Asthma??

My DS is 18 months old and hasnt had his 18 month shot yet, so I made an appointment on Monday for him to see the doctor and update his shots. I know they cant give the shot if your child appears to be sick and he had flu like symptoms a few days prior to the appointment so I would be getting him checked over before the shots are given.

After waiting in the airconditioned waiting room for over an hour before being seen DS had become a bit wheezy, so the doctor took his temps which were normal then listened to his chest and confirmed without a doubt that he is suffering from asthma.
I asked if MAYBE it was bronchialitis (sp) he said no he would have a high temperature, so he prescribed some steroid drops for him to take over a course of three days and just left it at that. Im an asthmatic, so when he casually said "yip hes got asthma" like hes won the lotto or something it almost brought tears to my eyes.

Ive been hospitalised a few times and I would hate for my son to have to go through that. I know it can be controlled with the right medication but if you catch a virus specially anything related to the respirtory area it really slows the progress if you already suffer from asthma. Apparently children with asthma dont always grow up to be asthmatics, if I encourage healthy eating and exercise it can help to reduce the risk of him having to live with asthma forever.
I guess what Im getting at is if there is some sort of test that could have been conducted before my Doctor had concluded that he was suffering from asthma and dosing him up on steroids? I know these arent "steroids" as such but it sorta paints a picture IYKWIM.

Anyway hes alot better, his breathing is good he still wakes himself up when he cant breath through his nose, but that should all be cleared up in a day or two.

sorry for the long post..

TIA

I would say that your DS is probably a little bit young to be diagnosed with Asthma - these days we tend to wait until 3 or 4 before we say for sure that little ones have asthma. Your Dr was right about the temperatures thing, they are a lot sicker with bronchiolitis than they are with asthma.

There are various sub-types and degrees of asthma; if there is a family history there, it is possible he will develop asthma himself, but not necessarily as bad as yours has been. some children are fine 90% of the time, but get wheezy when they are sick; others are fine all of the time except when they exercise (that was me as a child!) Medications to control it are a lot better than they used to be as well.

Good luck.

I am not much help but about 2 weeks ago my GP diagnosed my DD with Asthma which upset me also as she was in hospital when she was born for 3 months due to repitory reasons. Well she was put straight onto a pump with chamber, 2 pumps, 4 times a day. Well last Thursday I saw my DD's Neonatologist that oversees her medically and she proceeded to tell me that my DD does not have asthma and that she is just taking a while to get over a chest infection she had. She also told me that at my DD's age it is very rare for Asthma to be diagnoised. It has really made me 2nd guess my GP. I am not share what tests out there for such little people. I am lucky to have a respitory specialist working on her medical team, maybe you could ask for a referral to see one for your DS?

ETA: I was a bit slow typing... I am glad Smickers popped in :D.

Both my boys are asthmatic. Jaidan was hospitalised at 2. Chase was diagnosed at about 14 months. So yes he probably does have it with a family history. We have it a lot in the family, pretty bad on my mums side. All us girls have it and I had it very severe as a child. Now it isn't so bad with my preventer... when I remember to take it...

There really isn't many tests to do, they just know when they have an attack which your son seems to have had. See if you can get in to your doctor and write up an asthma action plan :)

The good news is the boys aren't bad yet. They only get it when they are sick and don't need to be on preventers yet. Jaidan only had the one hospital admission, but has been on redipred a few times.

It isn't all doom and gloom :) Best to know now and be prepared then later him have a massive attack.

Thanx for the feedback..

I thought it might be hereditary, Ill be keeping an eye on him from here on in and an asthma plan is an excellent idea that way I can keep track of any foods or allergies that trigger him to have an attack.

missymoo - IKWYM about the preventer, I hate relying on puffers but they do help heaps.

Chamberry - my DD has had too many chest infections to count from 11wks old which was our first trip to ER as she was wheezing and her last being a bad case of pneumonia. I have asked and asked dr WHY she is so susceptible to these things. I have heard some noisey breathing when she doesn't seem to have any other symptoms and the dr thinks she probably has asthma but said it can't be properly diagnoised until she is much older. He said basically the only way to test the theory at the moment is to give her ventolin and see if it makes any difference. We have been giving her ventolin when she developes a cold and a cough and so far she has not developed any further chest infections and is recovering a lot faster! We also have her on a restricted diet which I think has contributed A LOT! So I guess the point to this whole ramble is my Dr said it isn't officaclly diagnoisable until they are older and was reluctant to put a label on it but admitted her constricted airways were def contributing to her ongoing problems and for us the ventolin has saved a lot in terms of antibiotics and sleepless nights etc.