Flovent Inhaler for 3 Yr Old

My 3 year old son is also on Flovent. I personally have not noticed any huge behavioral changes, but I notice a lot more when he is on Prednisone. The Flovent has worked well with him to prevent him having to go on Prednisone or to have to get the albuterol treatments which definitely affect him. She is also at that age where behavioral changes are likely, whether on meds or not. The 3's seem to be worse than the 2's! I have my son only on Flovent 1X a day with 2 puffs. That may make a difference also. My husband and I debated whether or not to put him on Flovent, but the dr explained that it's better to put him on a little bit of steroids each day, then for his asthma to get worse and have to go on the other treatments when it flairs up. I wish you the best and I understand your concerns!

Remembered hearing that Flovent is not meant for young children. Did a quick google search with "Flovent for Children" and it did come up it is for over age 4. Of course I have no idea if this is still the case but just FYI-it also seemed like other parents have had what you are describing happen.

When my son was diagnosed they put him on Pulmicort and he did fine with it. They also gave him singulair which I took him off of because of behavioral changes. It was determined that he had many allergies so they put him on Zyrtec which he still takes every night. He is 6 now and has been pretty much symptom free for a while now.

My advice to you is to see a pediatric allergist. Only when we did this did I feel that we got knowledgeable asthma care. His pediatrician was not equipt to deal with his asthma. The PA is a specialist in asthma treatment and will get you on the right path.

Talk to your Pulmonary Dr. about the changes you are observing. There are many asthma controllers available, and you may need to switch a few times until you find the one that is right for your daughter. Good luck!

I have Asthma.
There are MANY different kinds of inhalers.
So.... if one does not suit your daughter, ask the Ped to prescribe another one.

But yes, medication can affect a child or adult.
Prednisone, is a corticosteroid.

I would HIGHLY tell you, to get a different inhaler.
There is:
Albuterol,
Xopenex,
Proventil,
Ventolin
(I have used all of these, and it works and is good and worked for me).
These inhalers are Bronchodilators, not steroid based.

KEEP in mind... that Flovent IS A STEROID inhaler.

The one's I listed is not. They are Short Acting Beta Agonists (SABA) .

Get a different inhaler.
the Flovent IS affecting her... it being a Steroid inhaler.
To me, she does not need that now.
She CAN use other non-steroidal inhalers.

At one point, my Mom was on Flovent. She DID NOT LIKE it and it made her feel awful/depressed/antsy. Because, it is a steroid inhaler.
At certain stages of acuteness... an Asthmatic does need corticosteroids. Like Prednisone. But not forever nor all the time.

all the best,
Susan

Although my son has been on flovent on and off since he was about 10, he is also severely disabled. That being said, I didn't notice a behavioral change at all, but I did notice it effected his sleep severely. Granted he has severe sleep apnea but I noted shortly after his starting back up on the flovent after Intal was discontinued...his sleep got worse then ever. I expressed my concern to the doctor and her thought was the two doses a day could be too much for him, therefore stimulating him in a bad way during the night. She had me stop the night time dose to see if I would see any changes...and sure enough...the nights went back to normal. Since flovent is a preventative, I didn't worry about him missing that one dose at night b/c if he was going to get sick and have an attack it would happen whether he was on one dose or two a day.

This all being said, I did a search on google and here's what I put in:
behavioral changes on flovent in children ....many articles were pulled up. Do the search yourself using the words I did and then read...and...read until you think you may have something to validate your thinking. Then take that info to your doctor. My feeling is there are so many meds out there...there's always an opportunity to try something else if one isn't working. A good example of this is claritin makes me severely tired to the point I can't keep my eyes open...but Zyrtec doesn't and works just as well. Intal worked great for my son...but stimulated his sleep way too much. Albuterol works well for my son too...no side effects, and is only used when his asthma kicks in which is only when he is sick. Now when he was coming off of prednisone...I thought he was dying...literally. I will never forget the day...it was a Wednesday, and I spent my entire day on the phone with anyone who would listen to me in the medical field. I was in tears b/c Ryan was acting so funny...not talking not eating not nothing...spacing out....I thought he was dying. I then got spoke with this one nurse and she asked if he had been on any meds recently that he's stopped. I told her about the prednisone. She told me to stop worrying...he was having withdrawals from the drug....give him a few days and he'd be back to normal. I did, he was, but I wish someone had told me how he may react coming off the drug...it would have saved me a lot of anxiety!

My best to you in finding the right med for your precious one. And remember...don't be afraid to voice your opinion and findings as you know your child the best! Sue

Oh yes - one friend has 2 kids with asthma who were on inhalers all the time - they are older now. Another friend has a 7 year old who spent a year inhaling these chemicals, and another friend has a daughter with these problems. All have commented on the behavioral changes as well as their general concerns about the constant and daily use of medications. One of the kids also had a heart condition so every asthma attack put her in the hospital. Occasionally a kid grows out of it but sometimes the parents just get used to it. And developing a tolerance to a drug can often mean it's less effective. There is a safe supplement you can use (all food, no drugs or chemicals) that was formulated by one of the scientists who developed the first infant formulas. I have friends in NH and happen to know that there is an informational program series going on in your area if you want me to connect you with someone there, or we can "meet" on the phone so I can give you info directly. These parents put those inhalers & nebulizers away for good, and the kids could play sports and do other things without wheezing anymore. It's an option you can look at, and keep using the inhaler in the short run (maybe a month or two) in the meantime.