i am blessed that my kids are growing and doing well in school, but i will tell you like other kids that have special needs my kids are often not looked at as that but they are. they do medicine every day any asthma issue could kill them, the tinest cold makes my kids terribly sick, we go to specailist and they miss out on alot because they can't be by certain stuff or are sick, i get overwhelmed with all the medicine and doctor visits or being up all night doing treatment and listening to them breathe. i am sorry i am sure i sound like i am complaing and i don;t mean to be but does anyone eslse go through this?

I am a Respiratory Therapist plus I have a child with asthma so I know how hard it is. If you have any questions feel free to ask me. Sounds like you are doing everything you can do for them.

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Heather
Mom to three dd 14, ds 8, dd 4

You are sharing. I am so sorry you and your kids deal with this. Just having a week of wheezing that my one year old is doing is scary enough. It actually made me grateful for what I have. I can only imagine how hard it is for you guys. Asthma is so common. I wish there was a vaccine or a solution they'd find so no one would suffer.

Both my kids, age 2 and 3 have had Asthma and allergies their whole lives. Both started nebulizer treatments at around 3 months old. We do 2 different meds in nebulizer minimum 2 times a day. (When they have colds - it is 4-6 times/day) They are also on Singulair and Zyrtec which seems to help. It definately is worse when they have a cold. Just wanted to let you know your not alone with this!!! We are praying they outgrow it as they get older!!!

123jad, Are you saying that sometimes asthma can be grown out of? Any idea around what age? Are they still a little fragile in that area, like their colds are worse, or their more susceptiable? I'm not very familiar with the condition, but I know how bad allergies can be.

My Lily is a twin. She's 2-1/2 now, and was born with a lot of strutural anomalies, including tracheomalacia (soft cartilage in her airway, making it very collapsible). At 4 months of age, they placed a tracheostomy, which was removed about a year ago. Now that she's over 2, they have diagnosed her with asthma. Because she's been more medically fragile, we also deal with a lot of the same things you've mentioned. Doctors appointments, meds, breathing treatments. Fortunately, she's doing very well, and doesn't need nebs 2-6 times a day anymore. However, she has a bit of a cold right now, so I'm giving her pulmicort twice a day. Thank goodness I haven't had to start her on steriods yet though! I just hate doing that if I don't have to!

As far as outgrowing asthma, I do know that a lot of babies and kids have some degree of reative airway disease that can get better as they get older. And I think asthma symptoms can sometimes lessen as kids get older too.

With that said, my FIL had pretty bad asthma when he was young (keep in mind this was probably 50-60 years ago now--he's 70, and what exactly pretty bad asthma means to him, I'm not exactly sure). When he was in his 30's he started running every day, and whenever he worked up secretions, he'd spit them out. He worked up to running 10 miles every day, and no longer has ANY asthma symptoms. Strange, I know, and I have to suspect whether he actually had asthma at all, but he swears this is the truth.

thanks for all the words of had help. I was having a bad week! My 4 year old had pnuemiona Again!!! My two year old was wheezing and the 5 month had croup.Asthma is not something that you grow out of but your allergies can get better and change, that is what i am told by the dr. my kids are on zrytec and pulimciort and nose sprays..We tried singulair but it made them sick. go figure! Sorry I know my spelling is not very good right now so I hope you can all read it. let's all remember to say a prayer for the families of those kids that died today, when I hear those things I feel blessed my kids are here with me. Jen

I hope the kids get better. May I ask where you live? It sounds like you're dealing with delicate little immune systems. My allergies go wild when I return to the Northeast. I simply do not do well in the humidity there at all. I do have issues here in the desert, but they increase greatly back east.

we live in chicago land, i know the weather makes my kids go crazy, like today it was 60 but yestersday it was 85 s what a drop in weather! It goes from sunny to rain.

I was thinking about you tonight, as I was giving a neb and doing CPT's on my dd. She's had a bit of a runny nose, and a little cough, that has now turned into junky lungs and a croupy cough. Her O2 sats had dropped into the upper 80s to low 90s, and I almost had to pull out the oxygen, but thankfully her sats are back up again (upper 90s). Whew! I still started her on steroids tonight though and emailed the pulmonology clinic. As hard as it is for me to have one child with reactive airway/asthma, I can't imagine how you mange with 3!! Thank goodness, my other 2 haven't really had any issues like this. Lily's are more related to her structural anomalies at birth. Anyway, hope your kiddos are feeling better and you're able to get some rest. Take care!