If your child has used a nebulizer fo a cold or they or you have asthma please read

I took the boys to the Dr. on Monday b/c I didnt like the way Brandon was breathing also I heard some wheezing from him. When we got to the Dr. the pedi gave him a treatment and he sounded so much better. She sent us home with a nebulizer and were doing treatment 2-4 times daily depending on his breathing.... Even though he has a cold my first thought was he was starting to develop Asthma and this is my biggest fear b/c i have had this horrible disease for 22 years its the last thing I wanted for my children but the pedi said that hes too young to say for sure. b/c its an immune disorder and they do not have fully developed immune systems till they are two they will keep an eye on him.... She said most likly it was just from the cold he has.....

Questions are....

Was you child on a nebulizer when they had a cold and later on developed Asthma?

Was your child on a nebulizer when thery had a cold and did not develope asthma?

Do you have asthma? Does your child have it or not have it?

Early symptoms of toddler asthma?

Is there a way to prevent them from getting this????

Mods can you please link to health forums?

 

I am sorry to hear your little one is having trouble with his breathing. It can be so scary! I just wanted to let you know that my son who is now 10 has been on a nebulizer many times in his life, but only associated with a cold or pneumonia (which he has had twice). He was not born prematurely, and really was not sick as an infant. When he started Kindergarten was when he started on the nebulizer treatments. He does not have asthma, but he does suffer from seasonal allergies, which can also get him wheezing. He now is in 5th grade, and really has no trouble whatsoever, except if he gets a cold, and then he doesnt need the nebs all the time, just a couple times a year.
I also have three year old twins that were born early, and have both been on a nebulizer several times. Neither of them have asthma, thankfully. When I was a child (probably from the time I was 7 through 14 or 15) I was given inhalers when I got a bad cold (with a wheeze). I grew out of it, and I think my kids probably will too. I hope yours dont have asthma, and I am sorry that you suffer with it. For some reason I think dr's give the nebs a lot more often than they used to. Maybe to avoid having to hospitalize them, or maybe they are as effective as inhalers? I don't know, but I am thankful I have one handy!

 

Hmmm, I'm not sure if you are trying to find a correlation or not. I don't think that a nebulizer can cause asthma or just because they have a cold (respiratory infection) and wheeze it means they have asthma. Although since you have/had asthma, I would watch.

My son is very susceptible to respiratory infections and almost any time he gets a cold he gets a wheeze. The doctors puts him on breathing treatments until the wheeze goes away and then we stay on one pulmicort treatment a day for a month.

He said he does not have asthma but that he has smaller bronchioles (I think that's what he said). He did say that 1 in 12 kids are like him and they don't like to label them with Asthma as a toddler because these kids grow out of the wheezing.

What he has is different than Asthma, but is very similar. His sister can get the same cold and not wheeze at all. Sure enough any time he gets a cough/cold, the dr puts him on breathing treatments because of a wheeze. A lady I work with says you will know an asthma wheeze and can tell even before you can actually hear the wheeze.

 

My understanding is that they will not officially diagnose a child with asthma until they are at least 2 years old. Before that they will call it reactive airway disease or pre-asthmatic. Mine has been diagnose with those. He used a nebulizer for every cold he ever got...but he has airway issues. No one in my family or my dh family has asthma. He was a preemie though so I don't know if there is a correlation there? SOOO many kids are on nebs these days that I wouldn't be concerned that he will get asthma just bc he needed it this time. Since you have it, he obviously has a higher chance of getting it but doesn't mean he will. The drs have found the the nebs/inhalers work so great for the kids (especially preemies) that they are used so often anymore.

Hope that answered all your questions!
Mine is on 2 inhalers twice a day right now..

 

We have used nebs as needed for both Timothy and Sarah. Mine both had bronchitis as 2 week-olds. We have had to use it less as they've gotten older, but I was even giving Sarah a treatment today because I didn't like the sound in a cough I was hearing. The dr. has mentioned perhaps childhood asthma which he thinks they would outgrow, but has never persued it.

I think in our case we probably have some scarring and scar tissue in their lungs. I think that the bronchitis caused some damage to the lungs (as often happens w/ventilators and preemies also). When they were littler the scar tissue was a greater % of their lung tissue than it is now. Since scar tissue doesn't grow, the healthy tissue is increasing it's %. We are using the nebs much less often than we were in the past. We're on a "as needed" basis, usually when they get a cold (or RSV like earlier this year).

You know your child best. I don't know if their is a pediatric specialist that you could find that could better answer your question. I'm very confident in this treatment for my 2.

Marissa

 

Sorry your little one is feeling under the weather!

My oldest DS was using a nebulizer starting when he was 4 months. He picked up RSV at the baby sitters. After that first go around, every time he got a cold it went right to his chest and out came the nebulizer. His pedi was like yours, hesitant to call it asthma because of the age. At his 2 year check his pedi finally diagnosed his as having asthma, and prescribed an Albuterol inhaler to carry with us. We still have to use the nebulizer when he gets sick. His pedi said he could outgrow it, but it's been almost 3 years and so far so it's not any better.

I had asthma as a child, but outgrew it before I can really remember having it. I have however ended up with it again. Ever since my second pregnancy I've had to use an inhaler off and on.

I really think if they are going to get it, they will. I've never heard of how to prevent asthma from developing.

I hope he's just got a cold and it doesn't turn into a long term issue for him. I know with our insurance if I run out of Albuterol for the nebulizer and take my son to Insta Care, they will give him a treatment but won't write me a prescription. They say they don't treat chronic conditions!

 

My son coughed his on and off during his childhood. I kept taking him to Dr's every time he had a flare up. They just kept prescribing him narcotic cough medicines. Finally, one Dr. diagnosed him with asthma at around age 8. He's been on nebulizers ever since. He is know 10 and I still have to keep on him to do his daily treatmnet, when he stops taking the meds, about 2 weeks later he starts the coughing all over. No one in our family has asthma, he was 6 weeks premature though, without any complications. I particulary notice his cough when he is very active in sports or when he does have a cold.

 

My guys are 2 and were on nebs for one cold last winter (around 15 months of age or so). We only used it that one cold, and have not used it since. We have had a bad respitory season this year for my guys, but no wheezing invovled - just a lot of secretions & coughing. One of my son's had bacterial pneumonia requiring hospitalization, but still did not need nebs.

I do not have asthma.

They don't consider it asthma until a child is around the age of 2 or older, until then they call it RAD (Reactive Airway Disease). It is more common in children with allergies, eczema, and a family history of asthma. Both of my son's have allergies and eczema, but no asthma.

I hope this helps answer your questions. And no, there isn't a whole lot you can do to prevent it. Other than the obvious - not being around people who smoke!!

 

quote:
Was you child on a nebulizer when they had a cold and later on developed Asthma? Jazzy was first on the neb for RSV which can cause asthama but she also has exzema, was on oxgyen at birth, and has allergies plus I have it so she was predisposed. Jazzy has asthama but Jessy does not (both had RSV both have used a neb)

Do you have asthma? Yes I have stress induced asthama(it acts like a panic attack)
Does your child have it or not have it? one does one doesn't

Early symptoms of toddler asthma? Wheezing, shortness of breath, exzema, chronic coughing, get colds and respitory infections alot,

Is there a way to prevent them from getting this???? There is no way to prevent other than avoiding triggers such as smoke, very windy day, and any allergy triggers you know of

 

quote:
Was you child on a nebulizer when they had a cold and later on developed Asthma?

Was your child on a nebulizer when thery had a cold and did not develope asthma?

Do you have asthma? Does your child have it or not have it?



My boys were both on nebulizer treatments for almost a year more or less. I was worried just as you are about asthma.

No asthma here. We even went to a specialist for asthma, and he gave us a higher form of medicine that I didn't use. I was afraid of going higher dosage (less often treatments - used for asthma and more as preventative)

It's been a little over a year since either one has had a treatment. No asthma whatsoever. My dh and I neither have asthma - in fact nobody in our families has asthma.