Is It Asthma or Acid Reflux?

there is a connection between the two things so it could be both. My daughter gets the exact same symptoms you are talking about. The doc can't always hear wheezing when she's having asthma attacks but asthma is not just wheezing, it's bronchial inflammation. The doc won't always hear that. I do the same thing- provide her asthma meds until symptoms subside, until the next cold!

I have both acid reflux and asthma and it is hard for me to lay without my back propped up on a back cushion and pillows because the draining down the back of my throat keeps me coughing all night if I don't. If she's blowing out a lot of white stuff it's from allergies. That runs down the throat when laying down. Our sons Dr prescribed children's Claritin for him for 14 days because he had the start of a cough that would have turned into an infection if I would have waited a few days to take him in they said. So cough medicine and Claritin seem to be helping him. I think it sounds like allergies though. Acid reflux gives a nasty burning taste in the mouth. Does she get that?

at 6 1/2 she should absolutely be able to tell the difference between asthma symptoms and acid reflux. ask her. but acid reflux is usually more likely in much younger children.

I think I'd ask for a chest x-ray and an ENT consult. The x-ray to check for an enlarged heart and ENT to check for structural abnormalities and/or a foreign body airway obstruction. I'd check those things before adding more meds to the mix. Obviously if she needed the Albuterol I'd give it, but I'd avoid adding more meds, even the tums, until she's had a more thorough work-up. Adults sometimes have to sleep sitting up because of obesity, sleep apnea or reflux, but I don't think any of those things are common in 6 year olds. I have heard of people having deviated septum, or other structural problems that prevent them from breathing through the nose while sleeping, or narrow nasal passages that make it difficult to breathe. I'd definitely get more info. Also, wheezing will not always occur with childhood asthma, and of course it doesn't always occur at the doctors office. Stay on top of it and go with your gut! If you're worried, get a second opinion!

Symptoms can be confusing, I know. Most conditions begin somewhere in the digestive system, believe it or not - stomach, intestines, etc. - not just the things you think of (reflux, constipation) but also including asthma and allergies. In addition, any respiratory conditions that increase congestion and result in swallowing mucus (cough, post-nasal drip, etc.) can irritate the stomach & gut. Boosting her immune system should take care of any/all of this. If you really don't want to use medications and inhalers all the time, you could pursue this nutritionally. Happy to help more if this is a route you'd like to try for 3 months to make some significant improvement.

I have heard there is a connection between the 2. so both may be an answer.

Sounds just like my son's asthma...his episodes are triggered by viruses and also sometimes in June with the grass pollen....you may want to ask your pedi about a controller med for every day (flovent, symbicort....)Yeah, I know ...I'm not crazy about them either...but it's helped my son have fewr and/or milder exacerbations and less need for prednisone (yuck!!!)

Good luck

I have one four year old with reflux and one four year old who may have asthma (going to talk to the doctor about it at her four year old checkup). The symptoms you describe don't sound like my reflux girl at all. For her, it hurts to lie down sometimes because the acid is coming back up out of her stomach. But it's an actual pain that she can point to, not trouble breathing. And colds don't bother her more than the average child. She rarely coughs... just complains about stomach aches and her throat hurting if the reflux is really severe that day.

My 4 year old has the same issues. Her Doctor put her on Singulair. It treats asthma and allergies. I even take it too. Works wonders.

Your child has asthma. If you look into the literature on asthma you will find it can be hour specific. The gall bladder hour is 11PM to 1PM which is why a child with a defective or delicate gall bladder has asthma at that hour. If it is at 5-7 am it is large intestine and so on. For this you can look at books on Chinese Medicine.
My daughter had one asthma attack at age 15. I went into her room and used my power song to sing it out of her and her room. If she has an asthma attack ever by the time she finds her inhaler it is over. She has not got asthma just the insult of an allergin which goes in a few minutes as it does with most people.
I had asthma for 29 years it got worse and worse. All those expensive BIG PHARMA DRUGS stopped helping and started to destroy my eyes. No way could heal myself. I went to a homeopath who is brilliant and really listens. For five years now nothing. No medication. If I have an incident it goes away in an hour very little discomfort. Or I get eczema around my eyes.
This is the scoop. Within five years of developing asthma or any other chronic ailment it is as bad as it will ever get.
Here is my last diagnostic question. Do you have a cat.
Any parent who has a cat and an asthmatic child should get rid of the cat. Or give the child to someone who can raise him/her in a cat free loving environment.
I take no excuses about cats. If you have no allergies or asthma you can have a cat. They are the top allergen in every home.

I had to respond to this b/c I understand what you mean. My nephew was thought to have asthma b/c he is constantly coughing. It's proven he has allergies (bad bad seasonal ones). Recently though the allergist suggested he could have acid reflux. On another note, my daughter has acid reflux. She was 3 when she began to spit up throw up. She complains of "yucky tastes" but now that she's 6 she says it's "ups and downs" or "reflux". She doesn't have trouble breathing though. I don't think I've helped, but want you to know that I think sometimes the 2 can be confusing. My son also coughs and has had similiar symptoms of both asthma and reflux. It's too early to assume he has one or the other. I hope you/we find answers!! God Bless

I've had one child with reflux and one with asthma, and this sounds like asthma to me. Asthma can be allergy related (that's what we've dealt with as well; flare ups come in the spring when everything is blooming and in the fall when everything is dying). Our daughter's only asthma symptom initially was frequent waking in the night with a nasty sounding cough. This had gone on for over a month before her first all-out attack. If it's in the cough or mild wheezing stage, she will probably be prescribed Albuterol, which is pretty tame, medicine-wise, although it can cause some kids to become hyper immediately after a treatment. If the asthma is not controlled by the Albuterol, they'll usually prescribe something like Pulmicort, which is a longer term steroid prescription to prevent or reduce the bad asthma attacks. We had to give our daughter breathing treatments of Pulmicort daily for about a year before she stopped having trouble.