Seeking Mom to Give Advice!

Updated on February 21, 2007
B.N. asks from Lake Worth, FL
19 answers

I need advice on wheezing and coughing. my daughter is 8 months old. she had RSV and was in the hospital for it. she continues to cough and wheez. i took her to an Asthma doctor today and he put her on Prednisolone. I need to know if I need to worry about this being asthma or is she just getting another "cold". it seems like every other week she's sick. please advise! thanks.

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M.V.

answers from Miami on

Small children tend to have respiratory problems, but that does not mean that they will become asthmatic, don't worry. The medicine that they prescribed is cortisone, ask them about using a nebulizer with pulmicort because that is cortisone that goes directly to the lungs and helps with bronchial inflammation. In my experience with my 12 month old, it has been a lot more effective using the nebulizer.

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L.B.

answers from Port St. Lucie on

I have a 4 yr old son and ever since he was a baby he always gets bronchitis every 4-6 months, although it seems like it is every couple weeks. I have spent many nights in the hospital when he was a baby for this, and have asked many doctors if it could be asthma but they always say no and put him on Prednisolone, which is steriods, along with nebulizer treatments. The steoriods bring the swelling down that is making the child have a hard time to breathe. It is pretty routine for me now so I just treat it like a bad cold. Every child is different so don't rule out asthma. It very well could be, but I would suggest you get many doctor's opinions. Good luck!

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A.L.

answers from Boca Raton on

Hi B. my name is A. and a friend of mine was having the same problem with her daughter and it was liked back to the house hold products.... Please call me I can give you more information about the things that she changed.
my # is ###-###-#### I know it seems strange that I am so willing to give you my # but I know what my friend went through and it was not good I would hate for someone else to have to go through the same thing. I hope everything is ok and I look forward to talking to!

A.

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T.E.

answers from Miami on

please take your daughter to see dr. karp. but you have t be very open minded! when my 21/2 yr old son was 6 months he got krup and every time he got a cold after that , he got bronchitis. my ped. had me pumping steriods to him thru the nebulizar. the thought of this was very disturbing as he was only a baby. so i open mindly took him to dr. karp and he has not had one steriod since:)! there are 100's of stories like mine regarding dr. karp; he has a gift.
he's phone # is ###-###-####
kelly is the office manager, she's a sweet heart. you can tell her T. eberle referred you and explain your daughters problems, i'm sure she'll get you right in.
i really hope you give him a chance to better your daughter.
take care,
T.

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M.P.

answers from Orlando on

Hi B.,

I have an almost 9 month old little girl. At 3 months she came down with RSV. The doctors gave up a nebulizer and we were sent home with scripts for Abutoral and pretizone( a steroid taken by mouth ) . Well after weeks of the meds, the cough and weezing didn't seem to be clearing up. We went back and they gave us a script for pulmocort ( this is a steroid but it's put in the nebulizer.) WEll after a few days on that , she was much better. I have to say, I didn't like tha fact that she was on those meds, especially the steroids.I don't know what your doctor has told you about abutoral, or if your little girl has ever been on it. If you have a nebulizer and abutoral, my doc said when they seem to be a little congested start doing the abutoral every four hours or so. This helps bring up the stuff from their chest and it wont hurt them if given properly. I have done this with my daughter and it has been a lifesaver for my husband and I over the last 5 months or so.If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me.I know your frustration. Just go with your gut feelingS, Moms do know best.

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C.A.

answers from Miami on

Like all of these moms, my kids (19 months and 3.5 months) both have had RSV at 12 weeks (which is brochiolitis (sp). Kids who get RSV are 60% likely to be asthmatic. Having said that, I have already been told that both of my kids are asthmatic. My son (19 m) is on Pulmicort every night until after flu season for prevention, and on Singulair daily for prevention. When he starts coughing he goes on Xoponex every 4-6 hours (which we prefer - less side effects) and Pulmicort 2x a day (if it's too bad he gets steroids). My daughter is on Xoponex every 4-6 hours b/c she hasn't gotten over the RSV/cold battle. What I'm trying to say is that if your baby is sick, you should take them to the doctor b/c RSV/brochiolitis is a severe cold which shouldn't be left untreated. Please feel free to email me with any questions. Unfortunately I am practically a pro in this subject. Being asthmatic and having 2 kids which are asthmatic.

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A.R.

answers from Melbourne on

Hi B., I have a 10yrs old with asthma, the only thing I could tell you is she gets asthma every time the weather changes or if she get a little cold it goes right to her lungs, I have a nebulizer at home so when I hear her wheezing I start her on the nebulizer and if it gets worse or last more then a day I call her Dr. to get her in. But it's something I've had to deal with for 5 yrs. My husband had chronic asthma and he passed it down to my daughter. My e-mail add is ____@____.com

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L.C.

answers from Gainesville on

B., our daughter also had RSV (when she was five months old -she's 17 months old now). Luckily she didn't have to go to the hospital, but she was put on nebulizer treatments and a short course of prednisone (I chose not to give her any past the second day as she was improving). The nebulizer treatments helped, being outside helped, and sitting with me in a warm bath while I ran the shower (not hitting us, but hitting the bathwater) alternating the shower water between hot and cold, effectively creating warm/cool humidification. We also used a cool mist humidifier while she slept but, honestly, it made such a mess that I found the shower routine preferable. Prednisone will actually compromise the immune system. However, if your daughter's airways aren't improving with other meausures, they should improve with the prednisone. We had to use the nebulizer 4-6 times a day for the first few days, then twice a day and then once a day and then were able to stop. My heart goes out to you having a little one sick. Good luck.

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K.P.

answers from Lakeland on

I FOUND THAT WHEN MY KIDS WERE SMALL WITH HEALTH PROBLEMS AND HAD BREATHING AND COUGHING, I WOULD PUT VICKS ON THEIR CHEST ALONG WITH A HEATING PAD. IT REALLY RELIEVED THE COUGHING AND LET THEM GET SOME REST. THEY ALSO HAVE AIR PURIFIERS TO HELP ELIMINATE ANYTHING IN THE AIR THAT MIGHT TRIGGER THE ASTHMA. I HOPE IT HELPS... K.

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T.F.

answers from San Francisco on

I would get another opinion. My daughter ended up in the emergency room at 11 months with wheezing, coughing etc. They ruled out that it was asthsma at the time but gave me articles to read, specialist to see etc. We took her to a respiratory specialist. I was told asthma would manifest itself by the time she was two if she were going to develop it. She has been on a home nebulizer with Albuterol. She has a cute fish mask that she wears while taking the meds. We nebulized her for the first 3 weeks after the hospital and now on an as-needed basis. She's coming up on two and the dr(s) are pretty confident she will not develop asthma but that is not to say that she won't have respiratory issues or bouts of coughing that are more severe than average when she catches a cold. She is due to be evaluated within the month. We rent our portable nebulizer from Apria Healthcare and it is really INEXPENSIVE. If you have any questions please feel free to email me.

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L.B.

answers from Daytona Beach on

Hey B.,

I'm L. and I'm a nurse living in Deltona. It is possible for RSV to develop into a respiratory condition, but it is not that common. The prednisolone is a steroid that assists in opening up the bronchi so your little one will be able to breathe better. RSV is a virus and isn't treated with antibiotics, so this medication is commonly used, it does work for athsmatics as well. It doesn't mean your child does or will have asthma. This virus is a little tough for an infant to fight quickly, it's a process, it may be a while before she's completely recovered. Just be patient, follow your doctor's instructions, and continue your check ups. Hopefully, she'll be healthy very soon. Best of luck to you.

L. B

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K.

answers from Boca Raton on

My son never had RSV but he does cough and wheez alot and he to went to an Asthma doctor and they put him on Cingular and it works great.... He also takes Prednisolone but he hasn't had to take it as often since the Cingular, I don't like to give him the Prednisolone...

Hope this helps...

K.

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B.J.

answers from Fort Myers on

Hi B.,

I know this is kind of late advice, but I was looking through requests and thought I might tell you that my little one also suffers from coughing and wheezing. I also think she seems to be sick every other week! But I have noticed that its usually like this in the winter months when we have the cold fronts. EVERY time our weather gets cool she starts coughing and wheezing! Her ped said that she has Reactive Airway Disease (RAD) I think its the same as asthma, but anyways, pretty much she said that my daughter is allergic to the cold air. She said that she would probably grow out of it and thats why they usually wont diagnose "asthma" until they are usually a little older. That Prednisolone helps with the inflammation in her airways, my daughter has taken that before too, but make sure that she is only taking it for extreme cases of wheezing, becasue its not always necessary. Her doc told me to use the Pulmicort in her nebulizer machine once every night during the winter months, even if she had no active coughing and wheezing, and this has helped GREATLY in preventing her from getting the wheeze/cough! Hope this helps, good luck. :)

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M.P.

answers from Miami on

My son got RSV when he was 3 1/2 months. It got so bad that he was on intensive care for two days. The doctors said he would probably develop asthma because of family history (I have asthma). After that, he seemed to have a runny nose or a cold every other week. We would use the pulmicort regularly. We talked to the doctor and he said that it wasn't normal for a child to have so many colds so he said to start looking for allergies wich would cause him to have cold like symptoms. He also adviced to switch the milk to goat's milk because it's milder and easier to digest that soy, cow's milk or formula. After three days on the goat's milk he got better and has not had a cold ever since. He is now 1 and he is doing great. Talk to your doctor about allergies. Good luck.

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P.P.

answers from Orlando on

THERE IS A MEDICINE THAT I MAKE FOR MY KIDSM I HAVE BEEN USING IT FOR MANY YEARS, IT MIGHT SOUND STRANGE, BUT IT WORKS. GO TO THE MARKET, TELL THE PRODUCE GUY YOU NEED SOME TURN-UP BOTTOMS, THEY LOOK LIKE ROOTER BAGERS, TAKE THEM HOME, PEEL THEM, DICE THEM, POUR SOME PURE CANE SUGAR ON THEM, DON'T PUT WATER ON THEM , JUST LEAVE THE SUGAR ON THE PEELED AND DICED TURNUP BOTTOMS AND THE JUICE WILL DEVELOPE. YOU COULD POUR COD LIVER OIL ON THE MEDICINE ,IT WILL BE THAT MUCH MORE AFFECTIVE, BECAUSE THE LUBRACATION FROM THE OIL WILL BREAK UP THE MUCUS IN HER BRONCULA AREA, HOWEVER, THE COD LIVER OIL IS NOT A NECESSITY. THE MEDICINE WILL WORK JUST AS GOOD. IT YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. E-MAIL ME @ ____@____.com

P.

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J.C.

answers from Raleigh on

B.,

I would get a 2nd opinion. My daughter wheezed and coughed for the first 8 months. Our Peditrician finally sent us to a respitory specialist and put her on a nebulizer with Xopenex, her wheezing cleared up within two weeks. She still gets bad when she gets a cold, but overall is much better. He only prescribed Prednisolone for "emergency" reasons. She is much better and we have never used the Prednisolone. He also told us that they would not diagnose asthma until she was at least two. If you need the name of the specialist e-mail me, he is wonderful!!

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K.B.

answers from Port St. Lucie on

My older son went through the same thing when he was that same age. The doctor just continued prescribing cough medicine which did not help. After switching doctors, the new doctor immediately had me take my son to an allergist. The specialist ran some allergy tests and come to find out that my son was/is allergic to milk and oats! Two main ingredients in his diet at the time!!!!! I immediately eliminated those items from his diet and now 7 years later he's doing great. The doctor has him on Zyrtec and Singulair. He has a mild case of asthma during the cold months but the Singulair daily keeps it at bay. From my experience I would recommend taking her to an allergy specialist just to rule out any allergies that you didnt even know that she may have. Not all allergic reactions cause the throat to swell or for the child to break into hives. Some symptoms include excessive "phlem" which may be causing the coughing and weezing. Just a suggestion. Let me know how it goes.

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V.B.

answers from Boca Raton on

Hi B.,
My daughter is 5.
She is asthmatic.

Asthma is caused by:
- Animal dander ( skin flakes floating in the air )
- Dust Mites ( tiny creatures that lives in Pillow and Beds )
- Mold / Mildew
- Colds

After many many researches and request for help from the American Lung Association - EPA - Department of Health - Pediatrics - Other moms , I have finally found the solution:

FRESH AIR by ECOQUEST

Since my husband got this machine, our daughter Camille went from 3 times nebulizer per day to only 2 times per week !!!!

She's been less sick.

It really works !!!

We also got Pillow case and bed case against Dust-Mites

Here is the e-mail address of Shawn from EcoQuest in Delray
____@____.com

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L.W.

answers from Melbourne on

Well first off I hope you child feels better. My son got RSV when he was about 4 months, he is now 18 months and now has asthma, due to RSV. We seen a doctor at Nemores in orlando. He has to take a nebulizer every night and even if he plays to hard. It took my son like two months to full recover from the RSV, but it turned out to turn into asthma. I would ask your ped if he thinks you should see a pulmoligst (spelling) Its a lung doctor he really helps us understand and keep it under control. I hope this will work out for you and good kuck with your little girl!!!

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