All about asthma

[zac's mum]

Ok...I found out it's called \"cough-variant asthma\": http://acaai.org/asthma/symptoms/cough


I find it very difficult to get some understanding from family and kid's friends (and their parents) when they hear him coughing non-stop. Seems like nobody has heard of this form of asthma. Many will shun away for fear that it is contagious. Or give some suggestions to cure his \"flu\". Haizzzz...

As for asthma in general, any helpful tips on how to teach a P1 kid to use his inhaler in school? Is one puff 5 min before PE lesson a good guide? He currently has no clue how to sense an attack coming on. Or even when during the attack he is still busy coughing & won't cotton on to use the puff. Safety rules? Max 1 puff per hour? Ask him to time with his watch?

[ammonite]

Hi i was sure you would get some replies from others with asthma or have kids with asthma, so did not reply earlier.


My kid is on asthma watch - ie high risk of developing asthma - and from what i understand, asthma cough is a well known early sympton or mild representation.

I don’t really understand what you mean by using the inhaler before pe. You have seretide and ventolin. Seretide is for daily use. It has a steroid component to bring down inflammation. Ventolin is for acute episode to open up airway when the individual starts to feel constricted or even gasping.

What is the doctor instruction?

[ammonite]

If his cough is persisting, you can use daily seretide, at the same time, you should try to pinpoint his triggers and address that eg food, mould, pollen, dustmites etc. When he feels better he will recognise that that is the "norm" and from there, he will start to realise when an episode is coming on.


Did they give him a spacer?

[MrsKiasu]

I had mild asthma when young. I cannot take part in the yearly spring cleanings as dust is my enemy then. I still remember that I still get it once a while when I sweep the floor in my early tweenties after a long break of no attack. When young, my mom will double boiled the ginseng with mutton for me…in attempt to keep my lung ‘warm’ dunno how true as i m no doctor…

[zac's mum]

Thanks for your replies. The Seretide is for maintenance, so that’s usually taken at home in the evenings. The one which I made him carry in his shorts pocket to school is the emergency Ventolin.


His triggers are cold air and cold drinks. And of course dusty rooms and cigarette smoke. Sometimes strenuous exercise will trigger his coughing too. So I saw some suggestions online about 1 precautionary puff before exercise to open up the airways first.

There is no way to avoid aircon rooms in school eg the music room or the library. And some classrooms are very dusty too. So I need for him to at least be aware of his chest tightening or coughing frequency as being warning signs that he may need a puff.

He has been using a spacer from 4 years old till now. But it is very bulky to carry around as you know. I am trying to train him to just suck in the medicine from the inhaler directly, as older kids and adults do. Somehow only 50% of the vapour gets in effectively this way. What to do what to do…

Just a note on birds nest. Older folk told me it will help his lungs. But it triggered an attack instead! I think there are potential allergens in any new food. So I’m not willing to try so-called food treatments any more.

[ammonite]

Is there a temperature or humidity threshold? I previously had a neighbour whose children’s triggers include temperature and humidity. Poor girl had a very bad attack as a child due to cold european winter air and was hospitalised in icu for a week. Mum managed their asthma via puffs and environmental checks. I never asked her what she did for schools, but in singapore, she had dehumifiers in the home while in europe, she installed humidifiers.


Ds2 still prefers to carry a spacer to school. It is bulky but not heavy so I leave it be. In terms of recognising signs, he got better at it with time. Your son will too. In the meantime, a lot really depends on the adults around him. I will suggest speaking to the english teacher, music teacher and pe teacher. On top of explaining the situation, you can give them suggestions on what to do - eg be allowed to stand outside for a while or a less drafty place, don’t position him under air vents or in front of aircons, moisten airways with evian water spray etc.

[mummyscopio]

zac's mum:

He has been using a spacer from 4 years old till now. But it is very bulky to carry around as you know. I am trying to train him to just suck in the medicine from the inhaler directly, as older kids and adults do. Somehow only 50% of the vapour gets in effectively this way. What to do what to do...

Yes... its really too difficult for us to train them to inhale directly.. cos they wont get the desire dosage if they don't do it properly... and it defeats the purpose.

both dd and I are asthmatic... she is 10 now... but if she is coughing badly i still let her bring her inhaler AND spacer to school... its cumbersome.... but totally necessary.....

[lego]

I agree that it will be better to use a spacer.

The medication can be deposited at the back of throat instead of the airways if the child does not know how to use the inhaler properly.

Dd is given a asthma self management plan by her Dr.
In the self management plan, instructions are given on what action/ medication to take if she develops a cough/ if wheezing starts , has exercise induced asthma.
Regarding exercise induced asthma, based on her plan, it is 2 puffs of ventolin , 10 minutes before exercise and to repeat the dose if the symptoms persist after exercise.
As the severity of asthma differs for each individual, I would suggest consulting the Dr for the appropriate dosage of medication to take.

[zac's mum]

Thanks for sharing your experiences! I have a question: does the doctor need to be a specialist? If so, what type of specialist ah? So far, I have been getting the inhaler prescriptions from GPs at the hospital clinic. Can they help with a proper asthma management plan?


Also, have you encountered any PE teachers or CCA teachers who are wary of allowing asthmatics from participating fully in sports? My boy is very sporty and active, he would be miserable if discouraged from joining in.