My DS2 uses one every 4 hours with Albuterol and twice a day we have to add an inhaled steroid in with the Albuterol. He will be doing this for a few weeks. I was wondering if anyone else is going through this with their LO or has in the past. He started on this b/c of a cough and wheezing and the wheezing just won't go away. He was on a liquid steroid given to him in a dropper and it didn't work. He has been on the inhaled steroids for almost a week and I don't think he sounds any better. I am just wondering what the next step would be. Could this be a sign of asthma or allergies? We go for his well-baby checkup this week, but sometimes it's nice to hear from other moms. TIA!!
Go Phils!!
Re: Anyone's LO use a nebulizer?
My DS has asthma; however, he uses an inhaler with a spacer and a mask instead of a nebulizer. It's 1000x easier (we've done both). if your LO ends up being on an inhaled medication long-term, you should ask the doctor about it.
How long has this cough/wheeze been going on? DS's asthma presents as a cough. He's had said cough since he was 3 weeks old. Oral steroids have never helped DS. Albuterol does help because it opens up the airways.
I do think it's odd that they would put him on inhaled steroids for just a few weeks. Our pulmonologist said we wouldn't see results from the inhaled steroids (Flovent in our case) for 3-4 weeks. it actually took about 5-6 weeks before DS's cough went away.
Did your son start coughing after an illness?
Coughing like that could also be a sign of reflux. DS has reflux, and the cough is literally his only symptom.
Good luck. I know how frustrating it is. I just lay in bed at night listening to DS cough and cough and cough over his baby monitor.... and it's been like this since he was 3 weeks old. We've seen huge improvements in the past few weeks experimenting with different combinations of asthma and reflux meds, but now DS is sick with a cold and it's all gone out the window. He's coughing like mad again.
Have you seen a pediatric pulmonologist? I'd highly recommend it. DS has been seeing one since January. I know that if his cough isn't completely gone by his next appointment, they're going to stick a camera down his lungs so they can look at the lung structure to make sure everything is normal. You can't really expect a regular pediatrician to have those types of capabilities!
We have used a neb a few times for bronchiolitis. One of the pedis I saw told me it only works 1/2 the time. So it may help sometimes and it may not.