My dude (Mason 17 months) came down with a cough just 3 days ago. No runny nose. Well, it got really bad yesterday and DH took him into the Dr. Our Dr. thought it was just a little viral thing until the dude got down to play and then really started coughing and wheezing. He said "Wait a minute!" He prescribed the Albuterol and Prednisone for him. He did NOT sleep last night. He sounded terrible. We just kept bringing him into the bathroom with the shower running. Our Dr. also said we need to keep an eye on this and mentioned asthma...If it doesn't clear up by Monday, we need to take him back in....

I just thought they would help sooner. Do they take a while to build up before they work? He sounds terrible and is just miserable! This is such a weird thing. Normally, it would start out as a cold....

This morning, I heard Syd cough and now I am really worried she is going to get it. She seems fine now. *fingers crossed*

By Sandysmom on Saturday, May 19, 2007 - 09:09 am:

Poor little guy! He sounds miserable. I have no advice but I do hope he gets better soon. (((hugs)))

If it doesn't clear up, they may have to give you a nebulizer for him. A nebulizer really helped my nephew. Good luck!

By Dancermom on Saturday, May 19, 2007 - 09:26 am:

Sorry your little guy isn't feeling well Eve.

I have two children that have allergies/asthma.

The Prednisone is a steroid. It can keep him awake or make him a little "rowdy". Was the albuterol in a nebulizer??? How often did you give that to him???

Holding them upright in the bathroom with a hot shower running will usually help alot. Do you have a vaporizer to keep on in his room??? Do you use pillows??? Hike them up for him.

Unfortunately on some nights the only thing that would help my girls was the nebulizer through the night and me holding them upright in a recliner. That weezing can get scary.

And yes, it could take a day or two to really see a difference (with the prednisone) the albuterol should have helped though.

By Trina~moderator on Saturday, May 19, 2007 - 09:28 am:

Eve, I just sent you an e-mail about this. LOL!

BTW, we have a nebulizer if you'd like to borrow it. We even have a toddler mask if you need it. A nebulizer is used to dispense albuterol in a mist form so the child can breath it in. This is good if/when the child is not able to use liquid albuterol or an inhaler. The only time we use it now is if Ty or B have an asthma flare that progresses to the low yellow or red zone.
More info:
Children's Asthma Center

By Yjja123 on Saturday, May 19, 2007 - 12:31 pm:

Albuterol actually makes my daughter hyper. It does work quickly (on her) to help her breathing. Perhaps it was the Albuterol that prevented Mason fromn getting the rest he needed.
I hope he is doing better now!

By Amecmom on Saturday, May 19, 2007 - 05:11 pm:

Ditto on the Albuterol. My doc prescribes Xopenex for the kids. It is more expensive but makes them less hyper.
Ame

By Mrsheidi on Saturday, May 19, 2007 - 06:37 pm:

If it happens again, I would ask the doc about Pulmicort, especially during the winter months. It's a preventative nebulizer and SO much better than the liquid steroids. Prednisone has some dangers if given over and over. Our allergy specialist was appalled at how many times Connor was prescribed prednisone. He was 14 months when his first asthma issue started, just like your little guy!
Connor had the same issue because of his allergy to our dog. I highly recommend finding out if he's allergic to anything. We had to find out the hard way and eventually had to give away our dog to a good home. We just couldn't keep the 2 separate and Barley kept licking Connor and that made everything worse.
He's now on Singulair and we've stopped the Pulmicort and he hasn't had an issue yet. (Knock on wood.(

By Karen~admin on Saturday, May 19, 2007 - 06:49 pm:

My oldest DS & youngest DD were *asthma kids*. I can tell you that the albuterol DEFINITELY hypes them up, and steriods can do that as well. When Jen was young, she was on Proventil, a small tablet you take orally, but it's the same thing. Jason took it too when he was an adolescent. They both would complain about feeling *jittery*, I remember Jason telling me his heart felt like it was beating too fast, and I know for MYSELF, when I have to use my albuterol more than once a day, it does the same thing to me.

I have no experience with nebulizers, but I'd think in such a young child, that would be a much better option. Hope he feels better soon, and that Syd is OK too!

By Mrsheidi on Saturday, May 19, 2007 - 09:16 pm:

ALso, instead of Albuterol, you can use Xeopenex (sp?) (pronounced zoe-pen-ex) that is supposed to not affect their heart rate.