Grandparents Raising Children Support Group

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Asthma, does anyone's GC have it?

Liam2010
Liam2010
My gs have been bringing home many illnesses from the Early Head Start Day care he has been going to since last Sept. So, this weekend seemed just like another weekend where he has runny nose and cough. Then, on Sunday he was acting very crabby and not wanting to eat or sleep. Then, later a fever started I gave him fever meds and put him down late at night without any naps during the day. He woke up several times and I had to give him some more fever meds 4 hrs later and put him in bed with me.

In the morning; he was still having a hard time breathing so my husband and I took him to the Dr and they gave him a breathing treatment and sent us home with antibiotics and a breathing treatment. They said he may have asthma with an infection.

I was feeling very down today...thinking this poor baby it is just another damage that bio mom did to this beautiful little boy. Plus, today is his 2 yr Birthday. My son text me wishing gs Happy Birthday and I told him about our Dr's appt today. He replied stating that the Bio Mom confessed that when she was pregnant she did many things to try to kill him! I couldn't believe he thought I didn't think he had anything to do with all this. If, she was doing bad things when she was PG why didn't he take her to the hospital Psych ward? She has been there many times...Why did he go back with her? Why, Why many things he did and didn't do?? I just ignored him after he didn't take responsibility...

I pray that this is just a Virus and not Asthma. He also has Eczema and of course many developmental delays....

If, anyone has experience with Asthma give me some tips. I don't have anyone in our family who ever had Asthma and I don't know about the bio mom's family. She was a very heavy smoker throughout her Pregnancy.
daisydduck
daisydduck
Asthma is very common today and can be serious. My daughter had it as a young child and still has lapses if she gets resp infection. Her asthma was usually similar to what you describe with gs. We had to keep a cook vapor going 24/7 until the mold spores built up in her room and she started an allergic reaction to that. Had to wash walls with Lysol to kill mold spores. We also spent many a night in bathroom with hot water running full force to steam her and break up the congestion. Now they have medicines to do that. My best advise is to keep the medicine handy if he gets sick so you can open those airways. Hang in there. Poor baby. Why do these kids have to go through so much?
deleted_user
deleted_user
My gs has also been to the doctor many times with respiratory problems. They started to diagnose asthma, then changed it to allergies and put him on an allergy med, which did no good. My dd smoked both cigs and pot during her entire pregnancy, gs was born with marijuana in his system which they think may be contributing to his breathing problems. If he is around another child with a cold, he is guaranteed to catch it.

The only thing I have found that helps with the cough and runny nose is "Similasan Cold and Mucus Relief", it's all natural and safe for children over two. All the decongestants and cough expectorants that the doctors have given him seem to mask the problem. His doctor still isn't sure if it's asthma as there seems to be no trigger, nor any pattern to be able to track. He still gets horrid wheezing sounds in his chest on occasion and we have to break out the breathing machine for a few days. Doctor also told me there is a possibility that he will outgrow this in the next year or two. Right now, he hasn't had an episode since Christmas, but with spring coming, I'm keeping everything handy.

Is it possible for you to get a family medical history from bio mom's side? Maybe from his other grandparents if not bio? Good luck.
deleted_user
deleted_user
My GD was diagnosed with asthma when she was less than 2 years old. She kept getting upper respiratory infections like crazy, usually pneumonia and the doctors gave DD inhalers and all but of course DD never actully remembered to carry them with her.

As of today GD has not had ANY asthma symptoms or respiratory infections since she was about 2.5 years. Found out that DD had her living in an absolutly AWFUL home with black mold covering many of the lower walls and mildew everywhere. I still keep inhalers on hand but her pediatrician even took it off as a current diagnosis.

We still have a humidifier that I out in her room if she gets a cold and we have kettles of water on the wood stove if we have a fire burning. Seems to make a difference. If the liquid menthol stuff you can add to the top of the humidifier does not seem to help you can always crush up some white sage, lavender and eucalyptus in the actual water in the humidifier. I actually thin those herbs work better than the liquid stuff anyway and they smell WAY better. A little menthol chest rub never hurts either.
grandmagrandma
grandmagrandma
Daisy, your house sounds like mine when my Son was growing up. With Gs the treatments are so much more effective. He, like my son started at a very early age and it was triggered by both environmental factors and a cold. The minute I hear my Grandson cough I start the breathing treatments. So many of the allergy medicines have side affects--nose bleeds, restlessness, anxiety--that we really use them sparingly. My son eventually outgrew having actual attacks, but he will have problems with environmental triggers as an adult. Grandson seems to be having less incidents of heavy wheezing and shortness of breath I think because we stat the treatment right away. He, like my son is prone to upper resperatory infections due to the irritation of the bronchial passageways. Both have had several bouts of pneumonia as is evidenced by scarring of their lungs. It is scarey stuff sometimes, but I grew up in a family of asthmatics, so it is also expected.
mommagain
mommagain
My GS was recently diagnosed with asthma... he turned 5 in October.. he has had episodes just like you described off and on since about 2, the Dr. said most of the time they out grow it by age 5 and if not it tends to get worse... at that point they will diagnose them with asthma if they have frequent episodes.

the time before last when we had to go in to Dr. for breathing treatment GS woke up and was full blown wheezing he said he sounded like a cat...LOL...the Dr. looked back on his chart and said that it appears that his asthma is getting worse and the inhaler should be with us at all times now.

however my GS's starts out as a cough... a progressiveness cough... and will turn in to a full blown wheeze and bronchus. I have never known of asthma to act like this... the Dr. said there are many different types of asthma. "Well DR. this worries me because sometimes a person just needs to cough... how do you tell which cough is which?" well since then I have learn the difference between the sound of the asthma cough and the sound of the "I just need to cough" LOL.

My DD did not use drugs or smoke when she was PG with GS so this asthma MAY not be contributed to bios stupidity...
GMaWilli
GMaWilli
My GS has also had asthma issues. His mom also smoked throughout her entire pregnancy. He also had to have tubes put in his ears when he was 2. That ended the ear infections. His asthma episodes are few & far between now. Mostly only when he gets a cold. The children's Zyrtec helps keep asthma symptoms at bay this time of year when everything is budding out. You can buy the Children's Zyrtec over the counter. You might want to ask your doctor about trying that for a week to see if it makes a positive difference.
GMaWilli
GMaWilli
BTW, I've never smoked in my life; other than trying it to be cool when I was in junior high school, but I got adult onset asthma when I was about 33 after getting pnuemonia. I had to start using inhalers regularly after that and was on a daily inhaled steroid (Advair) for a couple of years. I think I became mentally dependant on that Advair, believe it or not. I finally weaned myself off that & now have very few problems. Kinda got off track, but my point was that in can definitely run in the family & not necessarily be related to bad choices like smoking. My kids both were diagnosed as children at about 5 years old. Now they both smoke and neither of them have problems with asthma ~ how weird is that? Of course, I know their respiratory problems WILL catch up with them if they continue to smoke.
nutsandbolts
nutsandbolts
My GS got RSV at six weeks old and then whooping cough at 6 months and again RSV at almost a year. Both cases of RSV ended him in the hospital for a week. The doctor diagnosed him as inmature lung syndrom because she didn't want Astma on his medical recordes.
He has been using Budesonide inhaler twice a day ( which is a preventive med) when he gets a cold or starts to cough I add Albuterol to the mix, until the cough is gone. This seems to work well on him.
He has had one case of pneumonia this year, which we managed to keep him home and out of the hospital.
I was told by the doctor the Buesonide will be used until after spring and we will start it back again in Aug.

I wish you both well, Happy Birthday little one!
Liam2010
Liam2010
OMG nutsandbolts, Whooping Cough...I went to an in-house workshop through DCFS and it scared me...I ran home and called all of our Dr's offices to see if we all have been given the shots. I knew the baby had his. In California they said we had the highest rate in years and they made all of the school kids get the shots. I was ahead of the game with my young teen daughters.

Your gs went through so much at such a young age...he is a survivor for sure!!
nutsandbolts
nutsandbolts
Liam, Yes whooping cough... three days after he got his first shoot to prevent it. Dr. said some kids come down with it through the shot, he happened to be one of those kids..He is a survivor!