Has any mummas out there got any tips on asma in babies? Olivia has been going on coughing and wheezing for a good 6 months plus now and the puffer doesn't seem to change anything, we have been to countless doctors and they say there is nothing on her chest which is what it sounds like and we have been put on a puffer. Sleepless nights and rough days due to this problem and I have no clue at all what to do next? She is 16 months old and aasma is from her father'sside and we have nothing to do with him. Please help.
2 Replies
Have you tried a vaporiser?? I have one for my son use it everyday & night during winter! Hope it helps your little one! Also turn hot water on in the bath room steam the room up and stand in the steam with her
We've been told that you are unable to diagnose asthma until they are about 6 because the child is unable to use the breathing aparatus of which is used to confirm its presence (my daughter is 18 months and had an ongoing cough).
In saying this we have also been told to use a puffer when she is coughing continuously. We've been told that the cough may be due to continuous colds of which due to baby's lungs they have more difficulty shaking the cough and so it takes longer to go away but then the baby get's another cold etc so their cough never seems to go away. This is probably the case for my bubs who was coughing continuously it seemed for 6 months or so.
So I your bubs has had a few colds this might be the case. We found a vapouriser helped, Vicks on belly and soles of feet at night, sometimes brauers drops helps (not for us but depends on kid) and also probiotics daily or more (if ill or recently off antibiotics).
For asthma we've had a ventolin puffer (this is the blue one) and a steroid puffer (Orange). When using make sure you have a spacer and face mask as the kid won't actually inhale it properly without it. The blue one actually treats the symptoms not the underlying problem so if bubs is coughing give them up to 6 puffs of the puffer. If that doesn't help then it might be more cold related. The orange treats the underlying cause so you probably wouldn't notice any difference if giving it when your child is coughing.
Most importantly asthma is triggered by foods, pollens, allergies etc (if you have eczema, allergies etc you are also more likely to have asthma) so monitor what your bubs is eating. My sister had really bad asthma as a child even until adulthood. When we were younger she wasn't able to have much dairy as that triggered her asthma problems plus my mum took her to a naturopath/nutritionist to help determin what foods/items triggered it. So perhaps that might be something to consider as it may not be asthma (if your bubs doesn't respond to a puffer) but allergies.
Best of luck and keep us posted of how things go. Btw my daughter's cough subsided about a few weeks ago after months of her coughing vigorously at night so j think it was due to ongoing colds. Fingers crossed your bubs cough subsides too!