# alternatives to nebulizer treatments and asthma



## mama2rey (Jan 31, 2007)

My 9 month old was diagnosed with asthma. We were prescribed a nebulizer and told to give him pulmicort (sp?) once a day to help him develop his lungs. DS hates it-cries the entire time and I just hate it. I also am worried about the long term effects of this medication.

What alternatives do I have?


----------



## diascia (Oct 3, 2007)

What led to the diagnosis? Have you identified any triggers that exacerbate the problem?


----------



## vioburn (Aug 13, 2007)

I'm interested in answers, too. My ds (2.5 yo) has spent a couple of times in the hospital and 4 ER visits for asthma. It's when he gets a cold or virus that triggers it, but if I could figure out something else to use, instead of Flovent and Albuterol (sp?), I would feel a lot better. The only way to prevent an asthma attack for him is to immediately start doses of Flovent, as soon as we see a cold, and nebs with ANY heavy breathing. If we don't catch it right away, he ends up in the ER.

mama2rey, just like your ds, mine hates the treatments and we sometimes have to literally hold him down, until they are done.


----------



## PGTlatte (Mar 7, 2004)

Our DS was on daily nebulizer treatments of pulmicort and xopenex when he was just over one. They were always such a struggle. But he would have pretty bad respiratory problems without them so they were not optional. When he got a little older we were able to switch to a chamber inhaler and that was easier. But....what allowed us to get rid of both drugs.....forever.....was completely eliminating every trace of dairy from his diet (and mine while he was still nursing). After two months of *no* dairy ingredients of any kind, he never needed zantac (for GERD, which we believe was a factor in his reactive airway disease), xopenex, pulmicort, flovent, or albuterol again. Ever. He was two when we got rid of dairy, and he is 5.5 now and none of those problems has ever come back....even when he's had a cold.

Here is an article about the links between dairy and asthma:

http://www.naturalnews.com/010443.html


----------



## MamaMonica (Sep 22, 2002)

We have the best luck with removing as many asthma triggers as possible. If he gets multiple triggers, I need use his inhaler. For example, if he eats too much dairy and encounters a cat during high pollen season and then gets a virus-that's trouble. But if I keep him away from cats/dogs and too much dairy during pollen season, he can usually handle the cold virus.


----------



## karne (Jul 6, 2005)

I believe that childhood asthma is one of those situations where it's sometimes helpful to examine the role of food/environmental triggers and make adjustments as necessary. But it is imperitive that an asthmatic child recieve their medicines as well. The problem with asthma is that as a parent you may not necessarily hear the wheezing and think that the medications aren't necessary, when in fact your child is actually in need of them. Breathing difficulties in children are extremely serious and can go from bad to worse quickly. You really can't take it seriously enough. Children still do die from asthma attacks.
The first time ds was prescribed steroids I freaked. And truthfully I really had to do a lot of work myself to come to terms with the fact that asthma requires treatment, and by not treating it the child's lung function can be impaired. I don't like meds., but i am in a better place understanding that the meds help my child through times when he really needs it. We started at 5 mos., very bad asthma after RSV-many, many trips to the ER. But at age 6 I find that he's really down to colds as triggers, and sometimes damp weather. I know to listen for the asthma cough at night, and I don't hesitate to use the nebs. because he needs them. Not using them would be akin to withholding medical treatment from a child in need, IMO. I have also learned that warm steamy showers, a calm atmosphere and a cup of soothing tea works well during the onset of an astma attack. We avoid dairy whenever there is the hint of a cold. My understanding is that sometimes asthma can lessen during the childhood years and re-emerge later during adolescence.

ETA: I hope you can find support and peace about treating your child. It's so hard to see a little one uncomfortable. Can you do a distraction during the neb treatment, ie a video, a music cd, or reading a storybook. These helped my son.


----------



## Satori (Jan 30, 2003)

The masks tend to freak kids out, have you considered using a mouth piece? Both my kids were able to keep it in there mouths by 9 months or so and thought it was funny. When they hit the stage it was not funny anymore we were able to just do blow by while they slept which is actually a better option if there sitting there screaming since they actually get less in there lungs (old school thought they got more that way, they know different now) when screaming. One thing we would do when we couldn't wait for them to sleep was a dirty trick but it worked. Wear a large shirt, nurse them but pull the shirt over them so there inside your shirt, my kids always thought this was really funny and loved it. Now here's the sneaky part, if you can get the long green flexi tube ones they use in the ER, block off one end of the pipe with a piece of plastic wrap (I can take a pic if you'd like, I'm sure we have one around here) then sneak the tube under your shirt so its blowing at there face. Your basically just creating a giant mask this way by tenting them and concentrating it into one area around there face. Works every time for us







We learned that trick from an RT at the hospital









I also agree with the dairy thing, I had horrible life threatening asthma, was always listed as status asthma or something. I was on tons of drugs and nothing was working. I had to go dairy free when my dd was born, she couldn't tolerate even trace amounts in my diet. Surprise! My asthma went away completely. As she got older and I was able to start eating small amounts of dairy again and guess what came right back? yep, severe asthma. Now 8 years later I can have it here and there but if I eat it on a regular basis my lungs/ears/sinuses fill with crap and I'm back to misery.


----------



## karne (Jul 6, 2005)

I forgot about the blow-by Satoi! My ds's pedi told me about this because he said when a kid is sick and fighting for breath, the last thing you want to do is wake them and have them get agitated as you try to do a neb. treatment. We actually did this in the hospital as well.


----------



## PGTlatte (Mar 7, 2004)

I forgot to add two things....

I had my own asthma clear up when I eliminated dairy for my nursing child. We were eliminating it for sensory issues and his reactive airway and GERD clearing up was a total surprise ! I was also surprised when the next winter rolled around that my own mild asthma that usually flared up in the winter just didn't happen. When that child weaned and I went back to dairy for a short time, within a week I felt my chest congest and tighten. So I guess I am allergic too. Through all the years of bronchitis and wintertime shortness of breath I went through, since childhood, I never ever suspected a food allergy.

The second thing is that we took a teddy bear he had not been previously attached to and put an extra mask and hose on him, and named him "nebby bear". So when DS had his nebulizer treatments, he had a friend to snuggle who was doing it with him.

ITA that when meds are necessary, they can't be skipped. Our DS never really wheezed, but he would have kind of a desperate look on his face and his ribs would be retracting. It can get scary. When we dropped his inhaler treatments we did it very carefully. It was obvious that he didn't need the albuterol (no coughing or difficulty breathing so no reason to use it) but we were very gradual in spacing out his Flovent and reducing it and kept waiting for some sign we had reduced it by too much but he kept being fine and finally we were down to once every other day then dropped that and his symptoms just never came back. But we were very careful when we did this.

Oh, and, we also did blow-by with the xopenex. We learned it in the hospital and did it at night at home.

The tent-under-the-shirt idea is genius !!!!!!! I wish I'd known about that !


----------



## mama2rey (Jan 31, 2007)

Thanks for the responses. I'm going to try those suggestions. I think the main thing is that I need to get rid of the allergens in my home. I think this might mean the cats.

He hates the nebulizer. Today we had to give him 3 treatments. I think we found a way to distract him while we did it by making funny noises and singing songs. We used to just use the mouthpiece but then he started taking out and crying when we put it in and it became very difficult to use. So we were forced to use the mask-which I think when we distract him has become less awful.

I feel less guilty now knowing that there really is no alternative to the nebulizer until I get rid of dairy and the allergens in my home (we have carpeting and 3 cats. Even then we may just have to wait until he either outgrows this thing or can use the aerochamber.

Thank you!


----------



## PGTlatte (Mar 7, 2004)

I don't know if this might be something to try before re-homing your cats:

http://www.allerpet.com/

Getting rid of our downstairs carpet was a big help for us...not necessarily for respiratory issues but for the cleanliness of our home in general.

The carpet industry claims that homes with carpet actually have less airborn allergens, not more, because the carpet traps them and with hard floors they just keep floating around....but our carpet was nasty and impossible to ever clean well and our house feels and smells much cleaner without it.


----------



## Satori (Jan 30, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mama2rey* 
Thanks for the responses. I'm going to try those suggestions. I think the main thing is that I need to get rid of the allergens in my home. I think this might mean the cats.

He hates the nebulizer. Today we had to give him 3 treatments. I think we found a way to distract him while we did it by making funny noises and singing songs. We used to just use the mouthpiece but then he started taking out and crying when we put it in and it became very difficult to use. So we were forced to use the mask-which I think when we distract him has become less awful.

I feel less guilty now knowing that there really is no alternative to the nebulizer until I get rid of dairy and the allergens in my home (we have carpeting and 3 cats. Even then we may just have to wait until he either outgrows this thing or can use the aerochamber.

Thank you!

You don't need to put it in his mouth, blow by is more effective then using a mask on a screaming kid. Getting rid of the cats may not be enough as there dander sticks like glue to every thing it touches, carpet, bedding, clothes ect. Then there's all the places you go that you carry the dander with you like the car. It literally can take YEARS to get rid of cat dander.


----------



## MamaMonica (Sep 22, 2002)

We tried everything to keep our pets- air filters, hepa vac, no carpet in most of the house, the cat out of his room-- after yet another ER visit we had to rehome our cat. It was heartbreaking but my ds has rarely needed medication since. Our cat also found a wonderful home.

It took us a couple of months to get rid of enough cat dander to quiet his breathing. I wiped down every surface (we have hardwoods), washed all the clothes in the drawers, comforters, bedding steam cleaned rugs, couches, carpet in the family room etc. It was a ton of work but in the end, my ds was able to stay healthy and it was worth it.


----------



## tanyalynn (Jun 5, 2005)

You may be interested in this book (Kenneth Bock's Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma and Allergies):

http://www.amazon.com/Healing-New-Ch...2019645&sr=8-2

Bock suggests (I don't think he's the first to do so) that a range of chronic conditions including asthma are related to toxicity--not to downplay allergenic triggers (he sees allergies as another manifestation), and avoiding allergens is important.

For my kids (2), I see a mix of things being related to toxicity--allergies, subtle behavioral stuff, and more than I can think to list now. This isn't a substitute for all the stuff that everyone else has posted, not at all, but something to think about and see if it may fit your situation and support healing to outgrow this.


----------



## sbgrace (Sep 22, 2004)

Yes, breathing has to be priority and asthma meds literally save lives. Conversely, kids still die from asthma. So you're doing the right thing using them as you try to get things under control.

My asthmatic had been dairy free from 18 months to 3.5. His asthma appeared at 2 and is actually better now that the gets a little dairy. So dairy isn't a trigger for all kids but it is a common allergen and useful for some.

We use a chamber inhaler now but my brother in law who is a pediatrician used it for his 6 month old. He said you can use them on any kid as long as you can hold it there for the 6 seconds or whatever. He said they use them on premies too. I wished we had done that rather than the nebulizer all along. It's over quicker.


----------



## Satori (Jan 30, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sbgrace* 

We use a chamber inhaler now but my brother in law who is a pediatrician used it for his 6 month old. He said you can use them on any kid as long as you can hold it there for the 6 seconds or whatever. He said they use them on premies too. I wished we had done that rather than the nebulizer all along. It's over quicker.

The aerochambers for little ones have masks on them which tend to freak kids out but I agree it is faster.


----------



## bobandjess99 (Aug 1, 2005)

Is your child still nursing?
for us, giving dd nebulizer treatmenst was a BREEZE while she was still nursing, all I had to do was latch her on, then, while she was drinking, aim the nebulizer hose at her nose. (Babies have to breathe through their nose) She would happily nurse and nurse, and would be getting the nice medicine at the same time.
I would think it would work the same even if you are using a bottle.


----------

