Asthma Parent

Well, it seems that we were wrong about the Atrovent. The consultant was really quite down on it for use in one so young and seemed to think that the potential short term side effects were not worth it. I think perhaps that the reason that we've been disillusioned with the consultant appointments in the past is that he's extremely blunt about the fact that there really isn't anything they can do for viral induced asthma, and that's really not what worried parents want to hear. We can throw preventative drugs at it, or not, and the likely outcome will be the same. He cited a couple of research papers both of which looked at giving prednisolone to children with acute respiratory distress, one paper focused on parents administering it at home and the other in hospital. Half of the children in each study were given a placebo. Imagine that!? You think that you're pumping evil steroids into your child because it's your last resort, you're worried to death and you ...

Happy New Year! I very much hope that Christmas and the New Year finds you well and asthma free. Tomorrow we are back at the respiratory outpatients clinic at the hospital. Not entirely sure what we're hoping for, but perhaps at least some clarity on the issue of when to give Prednisolone and some insight into whether A's daily preventer medication is likely to be doing anything at all given that she only has asthma attacks after colds and no symptoms whatsoever in between. In the past these appointments haven't been entirely helpful, we'll see. We've had a fairly good run since the last cluster of attacks. No colds for just over a month and as such life without asthma for a bit. I know I'm speaking too soon, it always happens that way, but you've got to enjoy the good bits however short they are. Just after Christmas A started on one puff twice a day of Atrovent   to see if it might be useful. I am concerned about throwing another drug randomly at the...