Advice on Allergies and Asthma in 4 Year Old

About 4 years ago, Roger and Sloan Barnett purchased Shaklee, which has been around for over 50 years, because they were able to drastically reduce their young son's asthma by getting all the toxic cleaning chemicals out of their home and switching to Shaklee's nontoxic cleaners. This may or may not be the answer to your son's issues, but the respiratory irritants in regular household products are frightening. Let me know if you want more information.

J.
www.shaklee.net/healthyfriends/prodHou

D.,

Not to downplay the severity of your daughter's illness but was Jan was the 1st occurrence of 'coughing fits' or has this been an ongoing problem, when she has a cold do they last 10 days or more? Is she still having the coughing fits? Do they occur more at night, are they brought on by activity? I'm sure these are just a few of the questions the Dr.asked, since there isn’t one diagnostic test that proves that a child has asthma,the medical history is a very important component in making a diagnosis.

Here are a few facts about asthma and treatment.
Asthma is a CHRONIC lung disease characterized by 1.airway inflammation
2.hyper-responsiveness to a variety of stimuli 3.airway obstruction (or airway narrowing) that is partially or completely reversible either spontaneously or with treatment.

Asthma is chronic because the inflammation that happens in the lungs with asthma is going on all the time.
Asthma medications are either short term relievers (bronchodilators/rescue drugs) or long term controllers(inhaled steroids).
By definition asthma responds to bronchodilators and steroids.
Using inhaled steroids(long term controllers) is the most effective treatment for asthma. The goal being to control the inflammation.
The NIH has a National Asthma Education and Prevention Program. They promote what is called the "Stepwise approach to therapy" a ‘good rule of thumb' guide to coordinate treatment and put members of the health care team ‘on the same page'.
As a pediatric Respiratory Therapist having regularly treated children with asthma I have found this approach very effective.
I always encourage parents to give their children more water,dairy products tend to thicken secretions, making it more difficult to cough them up. Quite often children swallow their secretions which can upset their stomachs making it difficult to say if any vomiting was a side effect of the medication but it's something you want to mention to her doctor.
I did find it an interesting combination of medications for treating your daughter's asthma.
Zyrtec is an antihistamine used for allergies.
Nasonex is a synthetic steroid hormone used for the treatment of nasal allergy.
Advair is a combination of a bronchodilator and corticosteroid, though it is prescribed for ages 4 and up it's usually recommended for use when other medications have not been effective.
It does have a bronchodilator component (salmeterol),But it is NOT a rescue medication.

These are the drugs I have most commonly seen prescribed for Pediatric asthma patients.
Long term controller; Pulmicort Respules
(inhaled steroid) approved for use in children 12 MONTHS and up.
Short term relievers; Albuteral or Levalbuteral(Xopenex) both bronchodilators are rescue drugs used during acute episodes.

If you have any other questions you can email me and I'd be glad provide you whatever information I can or tell you of various resources.

Take Care,
D.

Hi D....first you have to determine exactly what is setting off the coughing spasms. The best way to do that is to keep a diary of what is going on when the coughing starts. If the asthma is mild then all she needs is a quick-relief medication such as albuterol. If the asthma is more persistent then she will need a daily medication such as an inhaled cortocosteroid. It sounds as though the allergist is treating your daughter for allergies instead of asthma.
S. (NP at CHOC)

My son has had asthma since he was very little he is nine now
he takes albeterol inhailer when needed for shortness of breath, flowvent inhailer twice a day, and singulair at bedtime. He has been taken to the hospital once in the past 3 years, due to breathing problems like shortness of breath. asthma can be very managable once you know what triggers cause the problems. Have child allergy tested, you can also buy special allergy bedding etc that can help control symptoms. My sons triggers are smoke, perfume, and pesticides, mold.

My toddler has the same problem. I am not a doctor, so please don't take this as "advice" but our doctor gave him singulair chewable tablets, once before bed and it works great. SOmethign for you to inquire about :)

Hi D.,
Take your child to Dr. Christine Anderson. I believe her office is in LA. Her website is www.kidchiropractic.com
She specializes in children.
Good luck,
C. Tanaka, DC
www.naturallifechiro.com

Hi D.,

As I was reading your request, I couldn't help but think about all of the families that I've seen come through my Dr.'s practice. I work for a chiropractor in Seal Beach and I have to tell you that in the 8 years that I've been his assistant, I've seen many children with allergies and asthma come under his care and get fantastic results. In case you weren't aware, chiropractic treats the nervous system, which controls every function in our bodies. If you take care of your nervous system, then your body can take care of itself.

Many of the patient's we've taken care of have been able to stop taking medication and live a healthier life and children, in particular, respond to chiropractic beautifully. I really encourage you to consider bringing your child in to see us. I can schedule a consultation at no charge for you. Feel free to give us a call at ###-###-#### and say C. referred you. You'll get the chance to help your daughter live a better, healthier life. I get the satisfaction of knowing that I made a difference in someone's life, too.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Yours in health,

C. Spinosa
Seal Beach Chiropractic Center
###-###-####

Do you have asthma? Do you know what it feels like to be unable to breathe? Give her the medicine! The Pulmonary Specialist can pull her off the medication if he feels it not necessary, but in the meantime please give her what the doctor has prescribed. Two trips to the ER in 4 months should be reason enough.

Hi D.,
It makes me so sad to hear about children suffering.
If you are ready to make some major changes in life........which it sounds like you are, let me know.
I can help you learn about getting the toxins out of your home that may be causing a lot of these issues.
I represent a wellness company and I help educate moms about living healthier lives and keeping their families safe.
I would love to show you a few very SIMPLE and cost effective ways to keep you and your children safe and alleviate many of your health issues!
We are on a mission to educate people as well as to help moms be where they need to be.........at HOME and available for their families!
;)
S.
____@____.com
www.MomsOnAMission.US

I am not sure what all the meds are...but, I think that advair is a steroid? My father in law is a retired cartiologist, and he is obsessed with my daughter's asthma.... he also has asthma. He said that the reason that children have problem with asthma later in life is 1) not having a plan for treatment 2) not using meds that are anti-inflamatories (sorrya bout the spelling). My pediatrician also said this to me...If you only treat the asthma when it gets bad, or only for the wheezing with albuterol, then you develop scarring in the lungs over time..and this cause permanent damage (from what I understand). I think (again not sure) this takes time though...so you are wife with waiting a week... But, personally I would just do, at the very least the steirod (we use pulmicort daily with any sign of a cold)....I also read this on a website that reviews hospitals. The study looked at how Drs prescribed meds. spcifically looking for pulmicort like meds..not just albuterol... My obessed father in law does not think all the allergy meds are very good...I guess there is research that says they can hurt asthma...but, I cannot confirm...just do advair and stop the antihistamines (zyrtec and Nasonex if you are worried...but the other one will control and heal her lungs....so, if you were my sister....I would say please do not stop that)... I totally babbled sorry, I am tyoing and getting up and doing things...so its a little sloppy...but I really wanted to share with you...

I am so sorry about your little girl and the medical problems she is having. One thing that you want to do is get all the toxins and chemicals out of your house that can cause allergic reactions as well as the asthms symtoms. My grandson who is 5 has had allergies most of his little life and they also diagnosed his asthma this past year. After doing all the testing they said he is allergic to everything and because he has been sick on and off for so long with these problems his immune system is compromised. All the doctors agree that it is essential to make sure he is not exposed to chemicals found around most homes and since they have started using non-toxic natural based cleaners etc. it has made a huge improvement in his health. I will keep thoughts and prayers going for you and hope your little girl responds well to whatever treatment you decide on. If you would like more information from me just let me know.
http://www.saferisbetter.com/sharons

You have received terrific advice regarding the medications.

I just want to give you the perspective of the child. As a child, I had asthma and miserable allergies. Back then, all the medications made you extremely sleepy so I always missed stuff in class and barely kept up. Also, no one tested me to find out what I was allergic to so I was surrounded by triggers (we had a cat and a bird in the house!). I had an aunt who meant well but was a little nutty who had me go in for the shots with her children but the shots were for the stuff HER kids were allergic to, not me!

When I read your post, I thought of how wonderful it must be for your child to have these medicines available to her. She will be able to focus in school and not struggle to remember things through a "fog". She will avoid the fearsome asthma attacks that plagued my cousins and nearly killed them. Isn't it great that you can give her this peace?!

Of course, beyond that, you can have her tested, eliminate her triggers, refine her diet and watch her health improve. In my case, I got better and better through the years and finally got completely off all medication about two years ago (with doctor's approval). Best wishes to you!

M.

Hi D. :)

My daughter has asthma, eczema, and allergies. Just recently, she was coughing continuously so badly that I didn't know what to do as none of her inhalers were working nor her nebulizer really. She was also frequently throwing up, but she was not sick. We were back and forth to the doctor and pinpointed that she also has reflux after he put her on Prevacid and the coughing and throwing up stopped.

I completely understand your dislike for these meds. I don't like them either. I have no experieince with asthma or any of this stuff- it all comes from my husband's side of the family. I now understand how serious asthma is and with your frightening experience when your daughter stopped breathing, you've had enough, I'm sure. I know you said she had pneumonia, however the breathing can stop with asthma in and of itself. I didn't want to give my daughter Prednisolone among more breathing treatments, more inhaler puffs, more nasonex... by a doctor who had never seen her before. Then she explained the seriousness of it to me. It seems like A LOT to put into such a little body- my daughter is 5. I would suggest getting a stethoscope and learning what it sounds like when your daughter is having distressed breathing vs. when she's not, and go from there provided your doctor says that's cool. With mine, she never wheezes. She just starts to cough.

If you would like to contact me, I will give you my doctor's name and number. He is right over by Mission Hospital and he is fantastic! He wrote Asthma and Allergies for Dummies and he is recognized and awarded as a top doctor in his field. He really cares about the children and I have 100% confidence in him.:) One more thing- I also had my daughter allergy tested- horrible, but completely necessary. Usually along with asthma comes allergies so you might want to find out if there is anything your child is allergic to that will trigger her asthma if you haven't done so already :)

Best of luck to you guys. I hope she grows out of it :)

Blessings,
Jennifer

I have asthma and allergies but they have been helped lot with certain non invasive techniques. I agree with what you say about the suppression of symptoms with drugs and how they can do more harm than good...
It's sometimes necessary to use certain drugs but I am willing to also do a complimentary or donation only healing on her if you PM me.
Blessings, A.

ps
Remember that the airways have become stressed and too tight so calm and relaxation - for you and her - soothing and helping her to realx and let go (and breathe OUT) is the key, if attacks happen however mild.

This has coincided with the baby?
Remember emotions are the reasons we get stressed and tight, and can trigger auto immune responses..

Its sounds like you little one has asthma you need to get a home machine that allows you to give her breathing treatments at home with albutroal my son was diagnoised with asthma at age 2 same thing with the coughing to puking any time he would start running he would start to cough and then vomit intill i got the mechine to give him treatments at home most insurences will pay for this they dont have the right to say the your daughter cant breath she needs this. as my son grew older he grew out of it not so much now just when he gets a cold asthma is very serious not to be taken lightly.as for the meds you were given some are to maintain between atacks how ever read the side affects my son had all the side affects so i did not give them to him.some are more sensitive than others,your daughter can not be around any smoking,or candles or fire places these things will triger a attac.

D., the Zyrtec if used for seasonal allergies. I wouldnt give it to her if she doesnt need it :) good luck

Hi D.,
I'm sorry your little girl is so sick. I did read about a doctors office on the westside, Bee Well Kidz Clinic and they use acupuncture on children. Actually, I think it's acupressure but perhaps they might have some alternative methods that can help you. Good luck.

D.,

You are right for feeling cautious on the medications the dr is putting your daughter on. Often times these medications only mask symptoms while the problem still remains. I would take a look at house hold toxins. They are a major source of asthma and many other health concerns. I would love to help you narrow down toxins in the home and how to replace them. Feel free to PM or email me. ____@____.com

K.
mom to 7

hi D.,

My 8 yr old daughter had pneumonia 3 times in 3 months, and I too was told she had asthma as well. She is on the same meds. that your daughter is on plus a nebulizer or breathing treatments 2-3 times a day. She also was prescribed Sulfamethoxazole w/tmp susp this is an antibiotic that is strictly for chronic pneumonia. She takes it daily and all this combined my daughter has slowed down on the coughing. This is all due to this very strong virus that hit back in Jan. and it still is out there and or you never got completely over it and it was still in the body. This is the same virus that killed Cameron Diaz's father last week.
For me I had it in Jan. went to the dr. got medication for pneumonia...got somewhat better..I thought. Then 2 W. ago I was in the e.r. My white blood cell count was low and I had an infection in the lining of my lungs to boot. Out of the 6 people in my family 4 were diagnosed with pneumonia.

The asthma was triggered by the pneumonia. Beat the pneumonia and you'll beet the asthma. They come together as a pair in our case.

Best of Luck.
P.

So sorry you both are going through this. My son had a severe allergy to milk when he was little, at about 3 years he seemed to outgrow this allergy. He then developed extreme allergies to pollen and pet dander. Later he developed asthma. When he was 11 I had a doctor (after many doctors who said nothing) tell me that they NEVER really OUTGROW their ALLERGIES, their body's just have to COMPENSATE for it in other area's. So at 11 years old, I pulled him off of dairy. After 3 months (it takes time to cleanse it out of your system) he had the worst asthma attack he had ever had, and that was it. The doctor said that the final asthma attack is normal--it was his body totally cleaning itself out. My son is now almost 15. He has never had another asthma attack. He can mow the lawn and do yard work. We have 4 cats and a dog. He does wrestling and track in High School (and he's actually quite good). He never could have done those things before.
Is it possible your daughter has an allergy to something common in her diet...milk? Wheat?
If not to dairy, try pulling her off anyway. Dairy causes mucus which aggrivates asthma.
Good Luck.

I had the same problems with my daughter. The coughing fits which would make her vomit, I learned the hard way she has asthma. We were at a party in the mountains and she started wizzing. The next morning, she got worse. I took her into see her dr. and was told she wasn't getting enough oxygen. My daughter has been on Singular, albuterol, and QVar for the past 3 years (she is now 9) From what I've learned, the allergies trigger the ashma. As I've kept her on her meds regularly we have not had any big episodes.
The coughing fits happen every once in a while...during a cold, or in early spring.

Hi D.- My daughter suffered the first 3 years of her life with chronic "croup" that would leave her weezing at night, and unable to get a breath. We spent many a night in the ER, as you have. The best thing we ever did was get her on a nightly round of asthma medication. Her allergist did all of the tests, no allergies, but what she has is viral induced asthma. A common cold for her will last longer, and be more severe than other kids, and will happen more frequently. When she was about 3 1/2, we started giving her the nightly pulmacort (via a nebulizer), singulair and nasonex. The nebulizer has been a life saver. She gets sick only 3-4 times per year (versus monthly like she did the first 3 years of her life) and now her colds last half of the time and are not nearly as severe. If she does go into asthmatic distress, we keep zopanex on hand- it is the same medication they are given in the ER- and one to two doses of that keeps us from taking a midnight trip to the hospital. I know the idea of keeping your kids on medication when they are this little is scary, and no one knows what the future effects of them may be, but my daughter is now 5, and has been healthier since she has been on them. My suggestion is give the meds a try, maybe ask the doctor about a substiute for zyrtec (such as singulair- my daughter lovers the chewable cherry taste, and has no side effects). Good luck!

Hi D.,
I'm so sorry about your daughter. I have terrible allergies too. The main thing you have to do is find out what your daughter is allergic to so you can keep her away from those things.

I was 31 years old when first diagnosed with Asthma. I went for acupuncture and it saved me. I did not need any medications. I went once a month for years. If you are open to this, it could help but you do need to find an acupunturist who will work on children.

That being said, when I moved to LA, I couldn't find an acupuncturist I liked until recently. So, I started with allergy shots and Advair. The Advair has helped keep the asthma in check but definitely check with the doctor about using it on a 4 year old. However, there are some other things that help me: 1) Saline Spray in my nose several times a day - they have it for kids too 2)cold air humidifier in the room at night, 3) air purifier in the room at night, 4) hypoallergenic sheet and pillow covers for the bed, 5) I use fragrance free detergents and dryer balls in the dryer instead of the sheets because I'm allergic to perfumes and fragrances.

Good luck with this! I hope some of these suggestions help.

L.

Hi! I suggest getting an allergy test done. It is only a quick blood test and then you will know everything that your child is and is not allergic to. It doesn't however cover skin allergies but you will know more. My friend has a six year old and for years they thought he had asthma, add, and he was having horrible reactions to the flu shot. Turns out he was allergic to egg. Once they removed egg from the diet, he was a brand new kid. No more asthma and no more behavior problems. I'm not saying your kid is allergic to egg, but the allergy test will help rule out any possible causes. Good luck and take care.

Oh my gosh, yes, I can relate! I'm sorry to hear that you're going through this and with it being so soon after your new arrival. My 4 year old son was hospitalized at 6 months, in the PICU for 5 days because he couldn't stabilize off oxygen. I, too, was a nervous wreck and can totally remember those days! Since then, he has also had 7 ER visits (always in the middle of the night) and 2 cases of pneumonia. He's been on 5 medications at once, and 2 were steroids that made him hyper, jumpy, irritable and really hard to console. Also associated with the meds is weight gain (bulky tummy especially) and heart strain. His heart rate shot up from 55 to 180 one time in the ER and the dr. just said, that is one of the side effects of the meds. I was super concerned as his mom, but they didn't seem to worry since the meds were needed to open his airways again. I think those meds are necessary at first, but don't keep her on them long (just my opinion). My son takes pulmicort and xoepenex now via a nebulizer. When he gets sick (any little sign of a cough or runny nose) we increase his meds right away. Some times he gets xopenex every 2 hours for 20 minutes, so it's a really long treatment around the clock. But, during the spring and summer, he only gets it once a day!
Definitely see a Pulm Specialist. They will be able to give you some great suggestions and really diagnose her. Also, our asthma doctor from the beginning was Dr. William Berger. He wrote Asthma for Dummies. It's filled with info to help parents and caregivers better understand the severity of asthma. I recommend it! We just changed doctors due to my husband job relocation, so after 3.5 years, we're now seeing a new doctor. That's a little scary, but at least he's healthy at the moment! The good news, too, is that there is a way to control asthma without ER visits, though we still visit on occasion. Please keep me posted as I would be interested to see how your little girl progresses.

my daughter is 13mo old and has asthma and allergies. she is on a nebulizer. she takes pulmicort (which is her preventative) to control her symptoms and albuterol for when she has uncontroled coughing or if she has a cold. she also gets zyrtec for when her allergies act up. my daughter responded very well to these meds. all that was really different was that the steroids hyped her up a little bit. my little one isnt old enough for the advair (and i think that its only a preventaive too but im not sure) and im surpised they want her to take that over albuterol. i agree if you are worried to get a second opinion. what i would do in the mean time that will help for any inflamation in her lungs and air way is to have her sleep with a cool mist humidafire. that should help a lot with her coughing at night. good luck!

My daughter was diagnosed with asthma 3 months before her 4th birhtday. It took a trip to the ER to get it diagnosed. She had been tired all day, this was in Oct, and then when my Mom asked her to get up to put her PJ's on, she could barely sit up on her own. I took her in and they gave her a chest x-ray, said she had pneumonia & gave her a HUGE shot in the leg of penicillian. 2 days later we followed up with her Pediatrician, and after I answered more of his questions about activity level and other things he diagnosed her with asthma. She was prescribed Zyrtec, singulair (chewable tablet), Albuterol as her rescue medicine & Q-var as her controller inhaler. Once she started these meds I noticed an enormous change in my little girl. She wanted to run & play & she could now. I didn't have to worry about stopping her or telling her that she can't run because of her "tummy-problems"(when children are having a hard time breathing due to asthma, they often say that their tummy hurts, they will usually point to the bottom of their lungs, which this is where an asthma flare-up starts.).
You defintely need to see a PEDIATRIC pulmonlogist & get a home action plan on what to do & when. Determine what her asthma triggers are. Which meds to use for a flare up & what the follow up instructions are & for how long.
It is scary & nerve-wracking to think about your child on so many meds at such a young age, but if it helps her to be a kid again, to run and play like all the other kids & no more ER visits & coughing fits, then it might just be worth it! : )
My daughter is now 6yo, at night she takes 2tsp of Claritin, a 4mg chewable Singulair tablet (her chewy-medicine) & 2 puffs of her controller inhaler Flovent which is administered through an aero-chamber. It does seem like a lot for their little bodies to handle but when I see her playing outside with her 2 older brothers and running just as fast as my 9yo son without stopping to catch her breath, that's just priceless.
Good luck to you & your family! I hope you're able to get your little girls' asthma under good control & soon!

Dairy causes asthma. also have your daughter checked for heavy metals. Vaccines have been linked to asthma. Even though mercury was removed from most childhood vaccines, they were never and those vaccines did not expire until 2007. Both my twins had asthma growing up and I took them to see a homeopath/MD Dr. Grumlich ###-###-####. He cured them through homeopathy.
D. Merlin
mother/author
www.victoryoveradhd.com

I agree with Natalie, she needs her medicine. There are also preventitive measures you can take. Do you have a air purifier or a vaporizor? These will help with breathing, the purifier will clean the air around her of all allergins, the vaporizor will help relax and open the airway. Also inquire on "breathing treatments" to help with the airway. Also remove ALL the stuffed animals from her room or clean them weekly to free them of all dust and allergins. If you have carpet think about of removing it and putting in a hard floor especially in her room. When you do vacuum make sure you do it when she's not at home for a few hours to cut down on the allergy/asthma attack.

Good luck!!

L.

Surely I would take her in for a second opinion but it's very likely that she has Asthma. None of us parents want our kids to have any illness or disease but Asthma is treatable so that's good. Asthma is a disease and it doesn't go away...left untreated it can cause other problems with the cardiovascular system and actually get worse. They Zyrtec is meant to control the histamines that lead to Asthma, Nasonex is meant to keep the sinuses clear and decrease the chances of anything getting into the lungs and the Advair is a preventive inhalent to keep the lungs clear. That being said, it would be a good idea to have allergy testing done on her so you know what in fact she is allergic to. The hard thing is that over the years allergies worsen so it's important to get it under control now while she is young. It could just be fluke that it happened the way it did but it could also mean that she has allergies and Asthma which is treatable. Before my husband had Advair he would have to use his inhaler multiple times throughout the day but after he started the Advair he rarely had to use his inhaler and only takes his Allegra (same idea as Zyrtec) when he encounters allergens. It's a good idea to get a second opinion but if she does have Asthma it doesn't mean she is a sick child.

Hi D.,
I have twin girls (4) and had the same problem last year when we moved to Las Vegas. We had three trips to the ER last year. They both see a Peds Pulomologist. They are on Signgular, Clarinex and Nasonex. It is a lot a medicine, but it keeps their asthma symtoms down. I also use a warm mist humidifer if they start coughing it works wonders. If the cough persists, I add benadryl at night. I also limit dairy products and give them organic milk. Hope this helps.

My son, whom is 6 now, is on almost all of those medications. We moved to Hawaii 2 years ago and he can't go with out this medicine. I feel it is excessive and possible harmful, but if he stops taking them he coughs until he vomits. He takes Flovent, an inhaled steriod, Flonase, a nasal steriod, Zyrtec, Previacid and Singulair. THey confirmed he aslo had acid reflux, which i guess is common in children with asthma. I don't like him being on so many steroids, but the quality of life without them are unacceptable. It might be hard to take in, as it has taken me 2 years, and I still struggle with the issue, but remember it is about them too.

I am sure you are scared. Asthma is so misunderstood by moms who have never had an asthmatic child. My son was 4 years old when he had his first attack and like yours had pneumonia. It wasn't a surprise that he had asthma as all of my siblings had it as well as my husband.
We started on Albuteral for emergencies using a nebulizer. It saved us from having to go to the hospital emergency. Small children usually cannot use hand held albuteral inhalers. Now days they have a few more attachments that might make a hand held more effective for a small child.
Singulair was the daily medication that I thought really helped and it is not a steroid. We did not start Advair until he was older, more like 10 or 12 yrs. Instead he used Flovent inhaler to aid in preventing inflamation therefore preventing asthma. That is the key, preventing the swelling that causes asthma.

I would question the use of Advair in a child so young but you need something to prevent bronchial swelling and inflammation. It's all about getting control so that you don't have emergencies all the time or especially during illness.

The most important thing I can offer you is to be very careful using any Ibuprophen product to reduce fever if he get sick. Many asthmatic children are allergic to ibuprophen products like Motrin. It is not something that they catch in emergency either. During one illness my son was doing OK. I gave him tylenol for his fever during the day. That evening I gave him children Motrin so it work longer into the night to reduce fever. Within 25 minutes of giving it to him he could not breath. We went to emergency. Gave the Dr. the history and never figured out that it was the Motrin.
The next day at the pediatrician we discussed my son's condition. I showed the Dr. the section in the pamphlet that came in the Motrin about allergies especially with asthmatic children and he was stunned. It became very clear that the Motrin had set off the Asthma attack. Many Asthmatic children are allergic to Ibuprophen products and very few doctors pick up on it. We only use Tylenol with our son. He has had very few attacks when he is sick since we stopped using Ibuprophen for fever. It is not safe.
You are your child's best advocate but if he has asthma he will need some help with medication to get it under control especially when ill. A second opinion is always good.
Sincerely,
K.

I don't know if this is the best advice but my daughter who is now 4 years old and was diagnosed with asthma when she was 18 months old. We basically don't have her on any constant medication. We keep her inside when it's windy and the weather is smoggy outside. If she is sick we know that at some point in her sickness it will turn into her lungs so we watch for it as well being careful around other children who are sick. When her coughing is getting bad or she starts wheezing we have a Nebulizer (sorry not sure of the spelling) inhaling machine (ask your doctor about this) which we have both Albuterol and Pulmacort (a steroid) medicines that we give her. Now granted I don't like my daughter taking medicine all the time either especially the Pulmacort but it is better than taking medicine daily and we have the peace of mind that when she has a fit we know this works. We also have a stethoscope which we have used many nights to check on her breathing just to check if she is wheezing or having trouble breathing while sleeping. Asthma can be very stressful, me and my husband have had many a sleepness night listening to our daughter coughing and trying to breath. But once you know the signs and everyone becomes comfortable with how to manage it - that stress can be eased. My doctor tells us that she will hopefully eventually grow out of it and I hope it the same is for your daughter. Good luck.

Until you get all the second opinions you need, you need to give your girl something.

Asthma...can kill people. I know, I have asthma. Be very aware of this. It can come out of nowhere with no warning. There has to be "asthma" maintenance care. Also, if her oxygen levels are low or she is laboring to breathe...all of this put additional strain on the body, not just the lungs.

Well, I could go on and on. Just make sure SHE gets what she needs.
Take care,
~Susan

I had the same experience with my now two year old son. He was in the ER for croup, breathing problems, etc. 3 times in six weeks! I was being told every time I talked to my doctor that he was too young to have allergies. Finally I found a doctor who agreed that allergies caused sinus inflamation, the sinuses drain, agravate the respiratory system and caused the coughing. They finally started him on Zyrtec which has helped tremendously. The allergy induced asmtha is awful and the Zyrten did amazing things. It did take about a week or two before I actually noticed a difference. I would definitely suggest she have something in her stomach before she takes the Zyrtec though. As for the Advair, that is just to stregthen her lungs since they are so succeptible to infection right now. I don't think that is a permanent solution but should help her get stronger. Once the allergies are under control I'm sure you'll notice a major difference. Good luck!

Well I can help you. I have 4 kids and 3 have asthma and allergies. First who is your doctor? I know of a few good ones. My youngest son who is 6 was just at the doctors and he was put back on Singulair and Flovent. This is a good combo. The combo that you have for your daughter is good but the Zyrtec may be a bit strong. Do you give it to her at night? It works best then. The advair is really good but strong too. Nasonex is the nose spray right? I would ditch that one because you have the Zyrtec. My oldest son is 19 and has had asthma all of his life. He is an athlete and still has problems. We are still finding the correct combo for him on a college students budget. Flovent and singulair work the best as a duo with either Zyrtec, Claritin, or Benadryl for the nose. Also, try not to stress. I used to and then you can't think on what you need to do to take care of your child. It has to become second nature to YOU. Keep in touch. BTW, the winds out here are a big factor, keep her indoors as much as possible.