Asthma vs Allergies and Allergy Testing

My daughter seemed to always have a persistent cough and a runny nose...I always thought she just had a cold. Her doctor had explained to me that it could be allergies or asthma and prescribed her Singular when she was 3 years old. When her coughing started to get worse (mainly in the middle of the night) we took her in and her back to the doctor who then referred us to a specialist. Her asthma doctor diagnosed Cough Variant Asthma and Allergic Rhinitis; he explained that most children in AZ suffer from this due to the climate. She was put on a preventative inhaler and remained on the singular; he also gave her a "quick relief" inhaler for those rare occasions. Just recently she came down with pneumonia and her dosage was increased and she now uses a nebulizer.

With all of that said I would recommend that you see a specialist, our doctor showed us charts of when certain plants bloom (which is all year long) and graphs for when children with any type of asthma suffer the most. I was surprised to learn how the cold weather months are also a risky time for asthma…it turns out that anything that could cause respiratory distress could bring on an “attack” or “sensitivity”. Good luck with everything.

My opinion of all pharmaceuticals is that they are poison. I give my sons (and husband and self) only pure herbal formulas since becoming educated about how pharmaceuticals are designed. All pharmaceuticals are fragmented, synthesized and concentrated compounds of naturally occurring substances. Why would anyone think that to isolate and concentrate a single component when the entire plant was designed in balance would be beneficial, I don't know. Whole foods - ideally biologically appropriate raw foods - are what every body needs. Americans eat way too much processed food and our bodies are not designed to digest it well which results in a lot of allergies, allergy symptoms, obesity and chronic disease. My family used to suffer from allergy symptoms, metabolism issues, and stress and now that we use herbs regularly we are not. I haven't had a cold or flu in over three years now. I swear by the products I use and recommend them to and for everyone. If you are interested in some good and factual information about how to naturally balance the body with whole food nutrition feel free to contact me.

I too agree with what Clare said. She introduced me to a whole line of non-toxic for our home. I had the hardest time finding any answers. I was calling everyone I knew asking for prayers. She had a $1500 endoscopy that yielded no answers. And then I found mamasource and received 80 responses to my request. I had the appointment with Michael Daines. In the time it took to get into him, her symptoms were all gone simply because I switched to safer, greener, healthier product.. I can't thank Clare enough. I just went to this site

http://www.livetotalwellness.com/safemommy

I filled out some info and she personally called me and answered all my questions and more. I never knew it was my own chemical cleaning agents causing this on my daughter. I am extremely grateful. You should check it out, get all the facts Through a phone call). I can tell you you will see some if not all of a difference.

J.

A.:

I have a 21 month old son who has exhibited the same symptoms that you described about your daughter. He had a persistent cough that seemed to only occur more so after being active and at night when he would lay down. Sometimes he would cough so hard that it would trigger a gag reflex and he would end up vomiting. After talking to some other parents I did take him to an allergist. (His father is allergic to a wide variety of things). I was thankful for the allergy testing they did and found out that my son is only mildly allergic to soy and certain types of mold. The doctor however placed him on a nebulizer with Pulmicort, an antihistamine for the day and Nasonex (nasal spray). All combined my son does not have the cough anymore and he sleeps better for naps and at night. I think it is worth it to get your daughter tested with a pediatric allergist. They look at all the possibilities and the follow-up care is great.

We recently moved to AZ and my children (5 & 3) both suffered from allergies/asthma. After a month of every med and breathing treatment under the sun, I took my 3 yr old to a naturopathic physician and had him tested/treated for allergies. So far he has been great. I have been waiting for them to kick up again now that the weather has cooled off a bit, but he has been great. Insurance does not typically cover this kind of treatment, but for me it has been worth every penny. If you are interested his info is Dr. Kail and his phone is ###-###-####. His office is in Scottsdale.

we had our two year old tested , but only the blood test. be aware that allergy tests are not always reliable. we know he is allergic to dairy, but the test came back negative for everything. i ahve heard the prick tests can be a bit overwhelming for little ones, which is why we did the blood test.

I, like some of the others that responded, found that my son's issues came from our cleaning agents. I would have never known!

I am not going to try to 'sell' you anything, I just want to share my story.

My son was barely a year old. He had a small cough. We went to Hawaii. He came back with pneumonia. That was in August. By Dec. he still had a cough. In January the Dr. was reluctant to diagnose him with asthma, but threw out the words, "Reactive Airway Disease." She sent me home with a breathing machine, loads of steroids, etc. etc. Me being the worry wart that I am, I read all of the information before giving it to my son. I was scared to death to give it to him. I gave him one treatment, maybe two, before I totally flipped and decided I was not going to give these drugs to my baby.

I found a new doctor. I stopped using Lysol in the air, in the trashcans, etc. I stopped sprinkling that yummy smelling carpet powder on our floor. I stopped using Lysol products all together. I clean my floor with vinegar and water. I use as close to natural products I can. Guess what? My son never had a problem again. He does have a bark like cough when he does get sick, but he hardly even gets sick. I knew that these drugs might do more damage to my son than good and I just knew that I couldn't do that.

I urge you to look at your home before doing allergy testing. Unplug any smelly things in your outlets. Purify your home. Put wood floor in her room. You might be surprised. If she goes to preschool, look at that environment as well. Grandma and Grandpa's was a culprit of ours, too.

My 18 month old has had two rounds of prck testing and one round of patch testing. If you live in Tucson the best pediatric allergist is Dr. Michael Daines. It takes about 3 months to get in to see him but he is great and his wife actually is in the same practice and is a pulmonologist. I didn't spell that right- sorry. A second opinion I think is always a good idea when dealing with allergies and asthma because there is really so little known about it that the more proactive you can be the better.

Hi A.,
Sorry, I have to laugh at what your Dr. said: Who says it's not allergy season?

After years with a persistent cough, my husband finally went to an allergy/asthma specialist, who was also the first MD to really listen to him in a long time.

The Dr. still doesn't have a specific "diagnosis" for him, but my husband is 10-times happier now that he's finally getting the much-needed treatment. Seriously, he suffered for years and was ignored by the best well-meaning dr's in the business.

Go see the specialist ;)
T

My daughter was placed on Singulaur at the age of 2 1/2 because she started having similar attacks as your daughter. It helped to the point of only having one or two attacks a year. We changed doctors this year and she sent us to a pulmunologist (sp?). Her name is Dr. Linda Riordan and she is located on Swan by Ft. Lowell. Dr Riordan is FANTASTIC!! She tested her lungs with a computer game of blowing out candles and tested her for allergies by placing drops on her arms. We now know exactly what her allergies are (cats, dogs, and mesquite trees) and that she may have only had a chronic virus and not true asthma. She gave us an action plan and certain signs to watch for. We now know exactly what to do at the first sign of an allergy attack that could lead to an asthmatic type of attack. Dr Riordan also recommended lots of exercise as that helps build up thier lung muscles and helps prevent attacks. She has been off of daily meds for the last 2 months and is doing great so far. Our first peds doctor didn't feel she was old enough to have any of these tests and that she would out grow all of this on her own. I wish we had pushed more for the tests maybe she wouldn't have spent the last 2 1/2 years on daily meds. Sorry my answer was so long but I hope that I have helped you with another alternative. Please let me know if I can answer any more questions for you. Good Luck.

G.

Yes - you can absolutely do allergy testing for young children - I had my boys tested at one years old and two years old. I recommend Dr. Robert Hellmers or one of his doctors in his group. I think they are one of the better allergists in the valley and work a lot with young children. They have offices all over the valley - scottsdale, phoenix, etc. hope that helps - good luck!

My daughter had that too and her doctor said it was allergies due to drainage. You can always get a second opinion. Her doc put her on Nasonex and I only gave her one squirt a year until she finally stopped having those episodes after doing this twice. Not sure if that helps but good luck...

Hi Abbie,

My son who is now 13 was diagnosed at 2 with asthma. We have gone the medical route for 11 years now, he has been on prednisone several times in his life (nasty stuff). Finally last Janueary I switched over to all natural cleaning products; expecially the laundry detergent and we have all noticed a difference for everyone in our family. He (The 13 yo) noticed the change right away in the laundry room. (I had used Gain) He came out of the Lr saying "I donot have to hold my breath in that room anymore" When I began to think about it those chemicals from the detergent were in his clothes, bedsheets, towels,,,, everywhere! So mymy first suggestion is to clean out your house of household chemicals.(Contact me an I can help you do this) #2 if the cats have been around since she was born it probably isn't a cat allergy. #3 You may want to contact a naturopath, we use Colleen Huber in Tempe.
Good luck,
C. Willis
www.LiveTotalWellness.com/Arizona
www.MyHomeCottageBiz.com

Dear A. -

The Pretnisone and Albuterol you are giving your little girl are both steroid based medications. Make sure you have reviewed the warnings because the side effects can be really bad.

If you are interested in a natural therapy, I would suggest you try Turmeric or a combination of Turmeric & Khella. Do you know where there is an herb store near you? Both of these herbs have anti-inflammatory qualities, with an affinity for the lungs, without the nasty side effects of steroids.

Please let me know if I can help.

Blessings,

M. M. Ernsberger
Certified Clinical Herbalist

I think you would be wise to get allergy testing done. It might be excercised induced asthma, but contrary to what your ped says it is allergy season. It starts when things start to bloom again (when temp gets under 100). Also out here it is allergy season all year long as a lot of people are allergic to the dust that the monsoons kick up. If she has had prednisone twice in two months I would go. The pediatric allergy people are great. Besides you already know she is an allergic kid she is allergic to milk. It takes so long to get into them, make the appointment and then cancel if you don't want to go later. Good luck!!