Could It Be Allergies or Asthma????

Hello-
My son had lots of problems with cough and gagging when he was little (he is now 12). After many Dr visits and a 3rd Dr they told us that he has RAD - Reactive Airway Disease. It is like asthma. He has an inhaler and we had a nebulizer at home. We found that if we kept the meds at home and started treating him as soon as we noticed signs it really helped. My son has had this since he was 5 months old. Thankfully this is something that they told us he would outgrow. He has not had any problems for almost 2 years now.
My daughter also had a bad cough that started as soon as she woke up every morning. She is on a nasel spray and a 10 mg melt tab (clariton) every night. She also doesn't snore anymore now. Does he breath thru his nose when he sleeps?
Hope some of this helps.

You definitely do not want it to be asthma. My 2 year old has had problems since he was 6 months old. Last year he had this "thing" at least 4 times and it always seemed to happen when we were out of town and usually in a hotel. He would get the croup and then have a nasty cough/cold for a couple weeks after. The last bout he had was just after Thanksgiving. I ended up taking him to the ER at Children's. They nebbed him, X-rayed him, nebbed him again etc.... They finally said it was croup after the x-ray came back. They gave him a dose of decadron and said to follow up w/ our pediatrician. We have an awesome pediatrician! She said it was Reactive Airway Disease. SIMILAR to asthma, but kids grow out of it. My son was on Singulair for the winter months until May and never had another episode. She also prescribed Pulmacort for his nebulizer in case he needed it again. I think I used it twice. At any rate, he has not had any other problems. You may want to check into whether it is allergy driven even though he doesn't have the traditional nasal allergy symptoms. Hope this helps.

My daughter is like that in the winter and they won't call it asthma but they have me use a neubulizer with albuterol and it works like a charm.
Have you tried that?

You could always go get a second opinion from a different doctor. I've had 2 experiances where I'm glad I took my daughter to a different doctor. One eye doctor said she needed glasses another said no wait and see. My daughter was born with a heart murmor but it wasn't picked up until she was 5year's old by a different doctor. So sometimes it helps to go see someone else.

FYI: My daughter's pediatrician won't "label" her asthmatic because she said it could cause alot of problems in the future with health insurance/ life insurance stuff like that, and it's possible my daughter could be outgrowing her "wheezing"

My doctor said my son has RAD (Reactive Airway Disease). They don't diagnose Asthma in children because they can't really test them until they get older. My son would get a cough that lasted 2 weeks every time he got a cold. He even had pneumonia and bronchial infections. There are many triggers for RAD, my son's is a cold but other triggers such as dust, pets similar to allergies. Every time he starts getting the cough we start him on a nebulizer at home. We have plenty of refills and the doctor said just to give it to him until the cough is gone. If it gets worse we take him in and he's usually prescribed Prednisolone and it clears up right away. I would get a second opinion. My son is 3 years old and he has had this for about 1 1/2 and we only found out about it last winter.

Seeing an allergist is the best choice. My son (5 years old) started with a similar thing at 16 months. He does have asthma now as well as food allergies. I took him to a pediatric asthma and allery specialist as soon as those symptoms began as my husband has terrible asthma and allergies. He was put on Pulmicort-an inhaled daily medication for asthma- and Xopenex-a purified form of albuterol as needed for symptoms. After some weeks, he was taken off the Pulmicort and it all got worse again. When put back on the medication, we were able to go without the Xopenex until he would get a cold. He is still the same today and needs an increase of Pulmicort when he is sick.

The good news is that if it turns out to be a diagnosis of asthma in the future it can be managed well. My son only has complications when he's ill as long as he stays on the medication. Go to the allergist. We go to Asthma and Allergy Specialists in Plymouth. They also have an office downtown Minneapolis. We see Dr. Stillerman.

My 11 month old is going through the same thing. We were told it was probably allergies from all the dry weather. Allergies are really bad this year. Good luck

M.,
My daughter has had (and still does at 9 yrs old) similar issues. Hers is considered allergy induced asthma. She'll get the wheezing cough when the air is cold and she's very active; when she's around certain triggers(cats, sawdust, maple, mold, ragweed & excessive dust). I had her tested for allergies and from there it's been much more manageable. She takes claritin daily during bad allergy times and that helps keep her from getting sick(most of the time). She uses a nebulizer with albuterol when she's getting wheezy or a chest cold and that kicks it out fast--it's only when we're not right on top of it that she gets bad. She also uses an inhaler before hard activities in school to prevent the wheezing. You're on the right track with the allergist. Just make sure if what they say doesn't sound right, speak up or see a different doctor. Good luck!

Hi,
I'm a dad not a mom but saw this and thought you might like a comment from someone who knows a little. As a 1 year old, your son likely likely consumes large amounts of dairy products, milk, cheese, etc. Milk causes mucus so could be a factor. I have copd and if I get a cold, must stop using milk or cream in coffee, no ice cream, etc. Your allergist may suggest a soy milk substitute. Also, it is very possible that another allergy is causing a problem. Dust mites from older bedding, cat or dog dandruff, just a host of things. The allergist could possibly do tests for sensitivity to known allergens, which include the above, and lots more, for example, new carpeting or drapes, from chemicals, or old carpeting or drapes for dust, etc. Next, is there any chance your living quarters have any mold? Some people are very allergic to molds. Housing and zoning have actually encouraged mold by making the quarters air tight to save energy but that makes it almost impossible to shed excess moisture hence mold grows and rotting windows or wood framing feed the problem. Finally, on a positive note, water thins mucus so encouraging water drinking is good. I know it is difficult to have youngsters drink what we want but it really thins and makes easier to expel mucus. You are certainly right to be concerned. The coughing is physically demanding and interferes with quality sleep. I am not involved in the medical field. Just a dad who knew a little. Please also remember, if your pediatrician isn't able to give you a correct treatment, there is the UofM and the Mayo Clinic to consider for second opinions. Best regards, JMA

My nephew had similar experience with milk. He was much better off milk. Have you tried nebs? Albuterol and/or Pulmicort? My 2 yr old has had several bouts of severe cough and wheezing and improved greatly with nebs. A couple times we gave him Decadron orally also. My husband has asthma, so we too think he may, but kids are typically not diagnosed this early with asthma. He doesn't wheeze with activity, only when he has an upper respiratory infection. We purchased a neb unit (about $50), great investment.

Hi M.,
We had a similar experience with our middle son; several visits to the doctor, perscription cough medicine, x-rays and nothing was found. We did also take him to the allergist, they found nothing as well. Our doctor perscribed a home nebulizer treatment that we gave him- I think initially a few times a day. Although asthma was never officially diagnosed, the nebulizer helped treamendously! It did not take long for us to cut down on it's use eventually to only using it when he had a cold. We also began to give him sudafed or some other allergey med. over the counter at the first sign of any congestion. This kept the mucus at bay and the coughing was less. Another thing to pay attention to is what products you are using at home. We noticed a marked increase in his coughing whenever we would use bleach or harsh cleaning products. Once we noticed the difference, we changed some things we were using and now the nebulizer only comes out 1 to 2 times a year in the thick of cold season.

Good luck!
J.

My 16 mo son has had issues with wheezing too but only in the winter when he gets a cold. In addition to using albuterol with a nebulizer we also used pulmicort when his wheezing got really bad. I think a number of things can cause wheezing including allergies. Have the doctor's checked his oxygen level? My son's level was pretty low (can't remember the number) but when it continued to get lower that is when they gave him the pulmicort which worked wonders. He hasn't had any wheezing since his two colds this past winter but we watch him pretty closely.