Had to go to emergency for asthma- all new- help!

Late last week we had to take DS (2.5) to emergency in the middle of the night. We thought he just had a cold and that was blocking him up, but he was just getting worse and worse- turns out that his cold had triggered an asthma attack. We were in there for about 36 hours with meds to calm it down before they were happy to let us go. It was very scary!

But its all new to us- this is DS's first sign of asthma, and it really came out of the blue. We now of course have ventolin and an action plan, but I still feel all at sea. I don't know if it will happen again, what his triggers are, how serious it is, anything! The dr's said we basically need to wait and see- he might never have it again (not technically asthma then), or he might always get it when he has a cold, or he might get it frequently now.

Can anyone else share their experiences and give some guidance? I keep worrying he will have some massive attack in the middle of the night and I won't know. And our action plan says what to do for mild and serious attacks, but how do I know which is which? And how long does it take for the ventolin to work, so that I know if he needs further treatment or not? Argh, I really feel like I just have not got my head around this!

Oh Hun, your poor little man and :hug: to you. DD9 had broncheolitis at 6wks and was in hospital 3 times as a baby. I know how scary it is and really feel for you. Ventolin works straight away, so if you see it is not having any effect take him straight to the doctor. With DD asthma was triggered by having a cold so we would give her preventer during that time and occasionally she also needed prednisolin which is an absolute life save in sever cases. She now rarely needs her ventolin, seems she is growing out of asthma. The amount of times I took her to our GP because I just wasn't sure if it was a cold or her asthma, but it was also for my peace of mind.

Regards,
Dianne

It's very scary :hug:

Our DD was 18months old when she had her first asthma attack. Like you it started out as just a cold then when morning I took her shopping but she wouldn't sit in the pram and I can to carry her, then while we were paying for something I sat her on the edge and she just fell into me.

We got into the GP and as soon as they saw her they called an ambulance, was all very scary.

With us its been "wait and see" and luckily she's doing very well, we've only had to use medication a couple of times when she's had a cold and we haven't used any for over 12 months now.

Hope your little man doesn't have any more trouble :hug:

:hug: :hug: its so scary

My DS gets asthma when he has a cold its not too bad now but it was quiet bad when he was younger
have ventolin everywhere...car,bags, grandparents were ever you can think so they are always on hand if your DS has an attack nothing worse than trying to find something when your in a panic.
Do you have a spacer with infant mask? I always had a couple of them too

We're like Party of five. The ventolin, spacer and mask go everywhere that DS goes. We were fortunate (or unfortunate depending on how you look at it lol) that both myself his father have grown up with asthma. His worst attacks are when he has a cold, its something that we just look out for now. He also has other triggers with all his allergies though.

:hug: It is such a scary experience...for you and your DS:(
My dd (25 months) has severe asthma...she has been hospitalised 7 times since she was 5 mth old...just about all her stays have been a week long. She has been on 60% o2 just to keep reasonable sats.
The scariest one was when she went limp and blue...it was an emergency ambulance ride and an ICU admission.
She is on a permanent steroid preventor and ventolin...she takes it really well with the spacer. She is also put on prednisolone at the first sign of laboured breathing....we keep some in the fridge as part of our asthma plan.
She wheezes most days...particularly in winter but all her attacks have been triggered buy colds...her last one a few months ago was RSV.

Signs to look out for are wheezing (not always present),nasal flair, chest, rib and sternal recessions (pulling in when breathing), tracheal tug (pulling in at base of throat) and lethargy.
The last three being most serious and requiring medical assistance.
At first sign use the ventolin,if it is not working take him to your GP or if you feel it is more serious get him straight to hospital.

DS was a lot younger onset but something I just remembered, we had to 'practice' with our face mask and spacer for a while when he wasnt having any trouble otherwise he would try to fight me off to give it to him, now he has no issue with his face being covered with the mask...

oh dear... no advice, just an OMG and a :hug:

Thank you all so much for replying. It really has made me feel so much better to read all your replies, and I feel a bit better informed.

How do you all deal with the overnight fear factor? I mean, they said in hospital that asthma can come on really quickly- I feel like I want to just watch him all night to make sure he is breathing ok. As it is, I have the monitor back on, which I haven't used in a really long time. It did NOT help when I googled this only to read an article about a 5 year old who died in his sleep from an asthma attack....