New to asthma

So we recently found out that DD has asthma (she has recently turned 5). She has the kind induced by a cold or virus and not by exercise. I think also that cold air or changes in temperature bring on her cough too.

So she has ventolin and after a really bad few days of coughing/wheezing we put her on a preventative (Seretide) and also predmix for 3 days. That started on Sunday morning.
So its now Tuesday and the relentless coughing hasn't stopped :(
Ventolin stops the wheezing but its the coughing that is driving us all bananas and affecting the whole family. Poor DD coughs ALL NIGHT and has missed a week of kinder due to tiredness etc.

So just wondering if anyone else has had similar and how long it takes for the cough to go away. I was hoping the preventative and predmix would have helped by now? Should we go back to the doctor or should I give it a bit longer to work?
Any help appreciated, this cough has been going for a week non-stop and is doing our head in and we NEED SLEEP!!!

We were just diagnosed the same thing for DS who is 8.
I found a vaporizer helped so much with his cough! I popped it by his bed and made sure he was sleeping with his head and chest slightly raised...
He has a preventer twice daily and ventolin as needed - he has only just stopped having it before bed and only ever really has it he's wheezing in the morning which is rare...

:hug: sangie....

I have the same form of asthma...... I know its not really helpful for you but..... when I have a really bad run the PRED can take up to a week to work properly and in the mean time I need to keep the bedroom really warm and a humidifier going as well. For me, once I have a course of PRED I usually dont have any severe lots of asthma for nearly 6 months..... it usually comes back with the change of seasons. I hope everything improves for your DD soon :hug:

I also have the same kind of Asthma, I used to sleep in the car with the dog I got so sick of keeping everyone awake with my coughing and missed a whole semester of uni as I couldn't possibly have sat in a lecture or tut without really annoying everyone (but I didn't know I had asthma, so had no meds - crazy!)

I would have thought after 4-5 days, the preventer would have made a difference. I have literally just had a cold and it took 4 nights of constant (yes absolutely constant) coughing using my preventer and ventolin before it started to slow down. I am 9 months pregnant, so my lung capacity is compromised, so I would have thought a 5 year old would be more responsive than me. Something that is good to have at home is to be able to test lung capacity (usually done at the docs with what looks like a toilet roll and you blow into it to see how much air you can blow into it. I found this useful to see if I was getting greater lung capacity over the days I was on meds, which I have to take every cold I get, or I will get asthma. I also had a very chesty cough which was why it was harder to get rid of. Not sure if your DD is having a productive cough, but if she is, a pharmacist might be able to recommend something age appropriate to help bring up the phlegm and speed up getting rid of the cough.

One other tip, take the ventolin first to open the airways, then use the preventer, this helps gets the meds right into the lungs. I would make an appointment for tomorrow, you can always cancel it, but if you have another crappy nights sleep, it's one night too many. My asthma would not have responded to a vapouriser, only meds make a difference for me. Good Luck and hope DD is better VERY soon :) (feel free to PM me if you have any Q's)

Sangie - are you using a spacer?

Thanks lovelies :hug:
I had the vaporizer on last week but I wasn't sure if it was helping or making it worse? Maybe I'll try again.
Caz sorry to hear you have it too. The doctor said to only use predmix for 3 days? I was hoping it was going to be the magic cure! Maybe the dosage wasn't right?

Sunshine thanks hun will try using ventolin before preventer. You poor thing coughing for that long and being pg too :(

Oh and yes we have a spacer.

My DS has mild asthma but has also been given predmix for croup. They seem to vary between giving a 3 or 5 day course of predmix depending on the severity. I've also been told different things about the vaporizers... some say don't use, will cause mould which can make allergies worse; but then some say use whatever works. I'm always up for a "use whatever seems to help" approach! Also, are you using the ventolin when she's coughing? Cos that can be the biggest sign of asthma, not just the wheezing. I also do get a bit careful about keeping my DS away from the cold air as well - just picking him up from kinder the other day, he was doubled up coughing by the time he reached the car (gave ventolin), and still coughed until he vomited an hour later :( (I should clarify that he currently has a flare-up!)

If it was me I'd be going back to the dr to double check :) and totally agree about the ventolin before preventer... a little bit before too, so it has time to help open the airways.

Belfie yes I've been giving ventolin when she coughs. It definitely stops the wheeze but it doesn't stop the coughing. Your poor DS! My DD coughs to the point of gagging and vomited last week too :( I know cold air seems to make her worse but you can't avoid it during winter unless you never leave the house!

I tried the vaporizer again last night and I don't think it made any difference at all. She still coughed all night and she's so tired that she'll miss kinder again today. I'm taking her back to the doctor today.

Ventolin won't help the cough in my experience. Let us know how you go. Get the doc to do a peak flow measurement so you can see how her lungs are going.

When I was coughing that bad the only thing that worked was the nebulizer.

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So the doctor thinks we have her asthma under control but that she also has bronchitis which is the cause of the cough (seriously its one thing after another right now!).
The advice we got was to continue with her ventolin as needed and give her preventative for 2-3 weeks and see how we go. Plus antibiotics for the infection. If she's still not well by next week they want to do an xray on her chest. So far today there has been quite a bit of improvement in her cough so I have fingers/toes crossed that we have a better night tonight.

Thanks for all your help :hug: