Skip to main content

Trialling a summer steroid break

So we've taken the plunge, fully supported by A's consultant, to stop the Clenil (brown) inhaler over the summer and just continue with the Montelukast. A is often a lot better during the summer and had a number of colds last year which didn't result in a flare up of her asthma symptoms. The idea is that a break from the steroids can only be a good thing and that the Montelukast with far less side effects and a good track record in treating asthma in children [Knorr, Barbara, et al. "Montelukast, a leukotriene receptor antagonist, for the treatment of persistent asthma in children aged 2 to 5 years." Pediatrics 108.3 (2001): e48-e48] would keep any exacerbations at bay.

Feeling a teensy bit concerned today though I must admit, as she has come down with a cold and who knows how effective the Clenil was in preventing any potential attacks during the summer last year. She's sleeping now and we've just been in and given her the blue inhaler as her breathing rate seems a little fast. I have to say this feels like a very stressful experiment to see how effective the brown inhaler is.

We will have to reassess tomorrow after we see how she goes overnight. It's going to be a long one I think...

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Asthma UK post - Personal Asthma Action Plans

When ‘A’ has an asthma attack there’s a sick feeling I get in my stomach that threatens to fill me with blind panic. It doesn’t matter how many times we’ve dealt with the same symptoms, fearing for her safety and remembering how bad things can be is so debilitating, yet it’s at this stage that thinking clearly and getting her the right treatment is essential in preventing an emergency and finding ourselves back in A&E. When she was 18 months old (she's 7 now), A had a number of chest infections and as she came down with another I remember thinking that something wasn’t right. She was coughing constantly and began to sound wheezy. We gave her a couple of puffs of her blue inhaler and the wheezing settled, but later, things got much worse. She was hurling herself around her cot, her breathing sounded terrible and at that point we rushed her into A&E. I remember turning to look at her in the car and thinking that she looked grey. At the hospital it was clear something...

Keeping Children out of Hospital - Asthma UK

I was very pleased to have been asked to write a guest blog for asthma UK about the very real benefits of the Personal Asthma Action Plans as part of their 'Keeping Children out of Hospital' campaign. Please do consider donating to this very worthy charity, they make a whopping difference.

'A is for Asthma'

I've come across a couple of great programmes lately which help children understand their asthma better and make them realise that they're not different or unusual for having to use their inhaler when needed. Get Well Soon 'Easy Wheezy' Get Well Soon is a lovely CBeebies show about all kinds of childhood illnesses and how their bodies are affected. The 'Easy Wheezy' episode isn't on on iPlayer at the moment, though the Easy Wheezy song is on YouTube . Dr Ranj Singh is a real-life paediatrician and his programmes really captivate 'A' and get her asking really good and useful questions about all manner of illnesses, including her asthma. Sesame Street 'A is for Asthma' The other one is the old favourite, Sesame Street. You've got to love Elmo and A is for Asthma is great. I love the angle the video clip takes, showing the child's friend what to do when he starts to get wheezy and as always the educational tone of ...