Asthma

Does anyones children/babies suffer with asthma. My 8 month old son does and just wonder if any of you have any tips or be able to tell me how they cope with the condition there baby/child has?

Our foster son suffers from asthma it was diagnosed when he was about 14 months, he had it before we got him but we were not in a position to act.
basically he's got two inhalers and a spacer a blue inhaler and a brown inhaler excuse the spellings but i think there called ventolin and salbutomol.
basically the brown inhaler is used once/twice a day and contains a steroid but don't panic about the use of steroids you normally hear about them in a bad context but with an asthmatic child your soon lean to love steroids, our son is not chronic asthmatic so doesnt require this brown inhaler daily only at the first sign of a cold or similar then daily until it clears.
the blue inhaler is used as and when required.
don't be alarmed over use of inhalers won't cause your child harm.
you'll propbably find any colds will become chesty and will normally be treated by an oral steroid such as prendisolone (spelling) the first few times you'll panic and get upset but you soon learn to spot the symptoms, it took us three stays in hospital but now we can spot the signs straight away before it gets that bad.
putting stickers on the spacer and letting the child shake the inhaler helps get them used to it, our sons now 2 3/4ish and can build the spacer up including the face mask and shake it ready for use.
the easiest way to start off using the inhaler is by lying the child on its back and you sitting with them between your thighs with your knees over the arms to stop them wriggling too much.
does your child like banana's? if so do these make the asthma worse? there one of the key trigger foods for asthamtics.
use google or another search engine and you will find loads of useful information.
hope this is of some benefit.

Hi Kerri, I took Luke's advice and just had a quick look on google and came across a book called 'Coping with Childhood Asthma'. This guide might be helpful for you.

Luke, that is really great of you to take the time to write such a detailed response to try and help someone else out.

Good luck Kerri

ended up going to the doc's on sat morning after getting home from work, he'd just woke up and was a tiny bit chesty so off to the doc's we went and ended up catching it before it took off, so we got away with some amoxycillian (sp) rather than steroids, i just wish i'd been able to spot my own chest infection which fully kicked in before i knew i had it.

Excuse the quick interruption, but Luke, you've won a voucher for £10 off at JoJoMamaBebe for your contribution, if you email me your address I'l get it in the post to you.

End interruption.

Oh and I hope you both feel bettter!

Cheers maria ive dropped you an email, the lads getting better which is more than can be said for me.

After chest X-rays blood tests and months of intense coughing and nighttime wheezing my daughter has just been diagnosed asthmatic. I was terrified at the thought but I am now so grateful for her inhalers as she is a completely different child. her appetite has returned the dark circles under her eyes have disappeared and her energy levels are at an all time high. At the moment I give her her blue inhaler religously in the morning, afternoon and before bed and keep an extra dose for during the night if she needs it. This way I am keeping her asthma under control.You learn to second guess things and for me being preventative and keeping her topped up with her ventolin has so far stopped her having a bad attack. At the first sign of a cold I make sure she has extra inhalers and has worked thus far. Hope this has helped.