Albuterol and Flovent anyone?

bruinjamie21 · November 2013

Has anyone's toddler been on Albuterol and/or Flomax for wheezing? My 16 month old was hospitalized over the weekend after developing trouble breathing while fighting a regular old cough/cold virus. Nobody in our family has asthma or allergies. It was a pretty severe case for a first-time wheezing episode, and now we are being sent to an allergist to see if something else is up. I am very concerned about the side effects of the medication and don't want him on this stuff long term. It's very upsetting to us to deal with all of this suddenly with our perfectly healthy little boy. Has anyone gone thru anything similar? Thanks in advance

MsMonica's1st · November 2013

Yes, My daughter was given the albuterol when she had the flu. They gave it to her with a "spacer" and she didn't like it because it's like a little mask over only their nose and mouth but in a few seconds it was done. It did help her though and she only had to have it when she was sick but once she got well we no longer had to use it.

However, she was hospitalized just last week for pneumonia and they told me that because she had used albuterol previously they would consider giving it to her again if she had problems breathing. However she didn't need it. We didn't see or experience any type of other side effects other than her choking once when we gave it to her.

Divallyn · November 2013

Not those particular medicines. Our 16 month old was prescribed qvar and ventilin. Same story, got a cold and ended up lethargic, blue around lips, and grunting each breath our local hospital transferred him to a childrens hospital where we stayed for 1-3 days (this has happened 3 times). I was reluctant at first too but now that he has been on them for 3 months they have improved his quality of life significantly. Unfortunately the allergist immunologist couldn't really give us a medicine plan because at this age they are still to young to officially diagnose with asthma. My DH has asthma he went through everything our son is going through at this age and has been on asthma meds for 30 years and he is incredibly healthy and has never suffered side effects. If it is asthma ... Breath easy .... It could be a lot worse. There is a lot to learn as parents of an asthmatic. Do your best to keep them in a heathy environment. You can find info on the web about that. All in all things kept getting worse for us and the hospital stays got longer until we got prescribed and started using the meds.

JENandJEH · November 2013

DS2 was on albuterol through a nebulizer at 11 months for about 2 weeks. They gave us a huge supply of albuterol and told us to keep it on hand should he get super congested and need a breathing treatment. No idea on the long term effects as we've not had to use it since last February but when he was on it he was incredibly hyper and jumpy.

emberlee3 · November 2013

I think you mean Flovent. Flomax is for old men with prostate problems.

nikki_rob_weddingplans · November 2013

Yes, DD has been on albuterol as needed for wheezing from 4 mo to current at almost 22 mo. In addition, she takes an inhaled steroid daily for preventative measures. She wheezes every time she gets a cold, which is about two weeks out of every month. We see a pulmonary specialist at IU Riley who is awesome and he said kids under 3 don't get dx with asthma but can have asthma-like symptoms. Most kids outgrow the wheezing by 3.

No known side effects for DD. She detests the mask but what works for us is to use the wand attachment instead and we hold it up to her while she eats. Now that she's getting bigger, she will actually hold it up to her face herself. Hang in there, good thoughts coming your way that it was isolated and you won't have to continue with a maintenance med.

bruinjamie21 · November 2013

I absolutely DID mean FloVENT, not Flomax - omg, that tells me what a long week it's been. His illness combined with my pregnancy brain is NOT good!

bruinjamie21 · November 2013

Thank you so much. Is your daughter's preventative med Flovent? I too am hoping this is something he'll outgrow but they're sending us to an allergist to rule out something else because his first episode was so bad. I like the idea of using the nebulizer tube while he eats. He too won't do the mask. Have you tried the inhaler with the spacer? We have that as well and I wonder which is better? Thanks again.

nikki_rob_weddingplans · November 2013

bruinjamie21 said:
Is your daughter's preventative med Flovent? Have you tried the inhaler with the spacer?

It is Budesonide/Pulmicort. We have not ever tried the inhaler so I'm no help there! We have also tried two different allergy medicines to see if they would help but neither made a difference so we stopped. I can't even remember what they were. DD has AR and the specialist believes that is likely a major factor that leads to the wheezing when she gets a cold. We're on Prilosec for that.

Country0202 · November 2013

My son is also on Budesonide(Pulmicort) daily and albuterol as needed. He has had issues since 9 months but just started the daily treatments two months ago. My pediatrician as well as the doctors at Scottish Rite Children's Hospital (he was hospitalized at one point for breathing issues) both were very wary of using the inhaler version of albuterol regularly. They said it is less effective and harder on their lungs, but check that out for yourself with your doctor. We have an inhaler but it is to be used strictly for emergencies, such as if he is having an attack and we are too far from home to wait. I highly suggest getting an appointment with a pediatric pulmonologist if there are more episodes in the future. They specialize in airways.

bumpuser1509193 · November 2013

My son is on Flovent (2x daily) and has been since July. His allergist said that Flovent is really safe and can be used at high doses for 11 years without ill effects. We have the albuterol, but that's a rescue inhaler that only gets used if I hear some wheezing. He had blood tests and no allergies were detected, so his doctor thinks it is just something we have to deal with during cold and flu season. Cooper hated the mask at first, but now he thinks it is a game. I let him shake the inhaler and I would put the mask on my face and his teddy to show his it was ok. He is an absolute pro now. I would recommend seeing an allergist or pulmonoligist. I love Cooper's allergist, she has really made this whole thing manageable.
Also, don't forget to rinse out the mouth after treatments. Aside form the fungal infections that can form, sometimes they get a sore throat or a raspy voice from the Flovent.

Hope this is a minor bump in the road!

emberlee3 · November 2013

OP, DS had numerous "asthma" attacks between age 9 months and 3.5 years. He never required Flovent, but we used an albuterol inhaler with spacer for exacerbations and sometimes he needed oral steroids. The spacer worked great most of the time. A few really bad episodes required a nebulizer. Allergies and viruses are his triggers. He is now on Flonase, Singulair and Allegra, but I am thrilled to say that he has not needed albuterol at all in the past 9 months. His pediatrician and I are hopeful that he is outgrowing the reactive airways disease and will not end up with an asthma diagnosis.

thatgirlnicki · November 2013

My son was put on flo-vent last winter at around 7 or 8 months when the albuterol just wanst enough to curb the constant cough. It made a world of difference with his cough. I definitely think it was worth it to put him on it. He has used the spacer which was an on and off battle. Now he gets to "press the button" on the inhaler and he is much more cooperative if we just keep encouraging him to press the button (he isn't strong enough to actually press it without help). We were able to stop it in the summer, but are now using it again in the Fall.

Just a tip - we bought the first spacer at the pharmacy and it was over $100. You can buy the same one from a medical supply company for less than $40. Since he needed a larger size and an extra one for daycare, I didn't go through the pharmacy this time.

Mrs.RockyM · November 2013

DD1 had RSV around 1 or so, and had a nebulizer, and DD2 had some sort of virus around 10 or so months and she was on the nebulizer too.

DD1 aged out of it around 2 or so, and DD2 only has used it 1 other time since then. Most of the time they grow out of it.

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