Hayfever and Asthma advice???

[hoggie]

My DD seems to be developing a hayfever (not totally sure but I think it may be some trees she is allergic to)

She also has asthmatic tendencies - she doesn't have asthma as such (although her father does) but whenever she gets a cold or the allergy symptoms she gets "that cough"

So far I have never given her anything for her allergies in the hopes that her body will "get over it". I am not being "hard" about this - I get hayfever and never take anything either so I AM sympathetic as to what it is like. But because she also gets the asthma-ish problems I am wondering if she should have an anti-histamine

usually we have a syrup that she can have for the asthma and it does help a lot with the cough. A couple of time when she has been bad with a cold the dr. has given her an inhaler. So anything I give her has to be compatible with that.

What do other people do - do you give/take anti-histamines as well as anti-asthma products. Or should I stick to the asthma syrup and leave the hay-fever alone?

TIA

hoggie

[Marsh]

I sent you a PM.

But let me post here for others some of what we were told. The cough your refering to could very well be asthma. Our daughter has the very same cough your refering to. If they have given her a syrup for it or an inhaler at anytime for it. It's possible she does have asthma.
The cough could have nothing to do with allergies but be asthma.
Our allergist said, "if there is post nasal drip and the coughing could be from that because it's dripping down there throat." This is an allergy. There usually isn't a cough unless the throats dry. A cold symptom lasts approx 7 days after that it is usally something else. (this according to the pulminary specialist)

The advise he gave us was: "If she has an annoying cough and the inhaler helps, then use the inhalers or syrup. If there is post nasal drip and congestion then use the allergy pills."

He said the pills wont help the asthma symptoms and vise versa.
We also were told NOT to use any cough suppresant syrups with her. If you do, it tend to congest the children more and you miss the asthma symptoms.
I am sure this doesn't hold true for all children. But we were told these were the rules for asthma and allergy kids from our allergist and pulminary doctor.
According to her Primary care doctor she's fine and her 53% lung function is normal when she gets a cold. And her daily function of 77% is no big deal as long as her oxygen sat is around 90 give or take 10. You can see why we got specialists.

Like I said this isn't all kids. It's just info that we were given. I am sure others here can input what they have been told.

Marsh

[bluesky]

My doctor prescribes Singulair for me. I have both hay fever-type allergies and asthma and it helps with both. I can still use my inhaler if needed and also can take an antihitamine if the hay fever gets out of hand, which it rarely does. You might check with your doc.

[fretti]

Originally Posted by hoggie

...She also has asthmatic tendencies - she doesn't have asthma as such (although her father does) but whenever she gets a cold or the allergy symptoms she gets "that cough"
....
usually we have a syrup that she can have for the asthma and it does help a lot with the cough.

I'm not a doctor and don't even get to practice on TV but, IMHO, she has the cough variant of asthma, just like I do. She probably should have a methacholine challenge.

I don't wheeze except when I get a bad cold or pneumonia. When I had this horrible cough, the doctors didn't recognize it as asthma. My coughing was so bad that I would eventually throw up. The only thing that seemed to work was an inhaler and, at times, prednisone. Finally a specialist ordered a methacholine challenge test.

They start with a baseline test, then add small amounts of methacholine to try to trigger a reaction. They slowly increase the methacholine until you get a reaction or that it is no longer safe to increase. On the very first addition of methacholine, I started coughing so bad I had to step out of the booth to catch my breath. I started to go back in when they stopped me and said I failed (passed?).

Wikipedia says this: "Regardless of the results of a methacholine test, anyone who appears to have asthma clinically, and who responds to asthma treatment, should have asthma treatment. Asthma treatment should not be withheld in such a patient who passed a methacholine challenge."

I know my triggers now and carry an inhaler. Smoke is the worst, especially structure fires, burning of word (no fireplace for me!), and the fall season (I have allergies in the spring but not much asthma). I start preventative meds in August and continue through December and reduce the asthma attacks.

Here's a good article about cough variant of asthma. Especially note that the spirometry tests that usually detect asthma are typically normal with the cough variant, as mine are. It doesn't mean she doen't have asthma. Until you can get the test, by all means, keep up with the inhaler. Don't allow her to suffer like I did.

Good luck!

[MN Gardener]

I have exercised induced asthma, but in the spring and late fall my asthma becomes really awful because of allergies. I have a rescue inhaler for the attacks and since the fall and spring are so bad my Dr prescriped another inhaler 2x a day for allergy season. I would have the Dr test her or send her to a specialist.

[Jenn]

all good advice. singulair helpful in asthma AND allergies- forget british name, montelukast in USA. if inhaler helpful for cough use it. I often prescribe inhaler for cough, and advise all my asthmatics to use the inhaler everytime they get allergies or a cold

[deb]

If she hasn't been examined and tested by a board certified Allergist, then please take her to one!

An Allergist will discover her allergy triggers, advise how to avoid those trigger, prescribe the best allergy medication for her (which could be an OTC allergy med), PLUS test her lung function, discover her Asthma attack trigger, prescribe the best Asthma medicine for her, teach you how to deal with an Asthma attack at home, explain when she needs to see a doctor ASAP and much more.

Regular pediatricians can treat the symptoms of Allergies and Asthma, but they can't know what the triggers are without testing. My Allergist was originally a pediatrician who saw many young children with untreated allergies and asthma. He wanted to help them, so he went back to school to become an allergist. Currently more than half of his patients are children.

My story:
I have been an asthmatic since i was a small child which was way before inhalers were invented. Back then if I had an allergy attack I went to the ER and was hospitalized if it was a severe attack. I wasn't tested and diagnosed as having allergies until I was a teenager. I have exercise induced asthma as well as allergy triggered asthma. When I was a teen the Allergy/Asthma meds were not that effective, so avoiding the triggers was the most common way of reducing asthma/allergy problems.

I am allergic to some fairly common stuff (mold, mildew, pollen (trees, weeds and grasses), wool, cats, tobacco, dust mites. I also have very low tolerance of perfume and petroleum product fumes. Avoiding everything, all the time was impossible so I would always have several asthma attacks during the year. My asthma attacks would frequently turn into bronchitis which would linger for weeks after the attack. It wasn't unusual for me to sneeze 10-12 times when I got near an allergen.

It wasn't until I was an adult that I was able to get allergy and asthma meds that really worked. Now I may have some allergy reactions from time to time, but I rarely have an allergy triggered asthma attack. My Allergy doctor has given me a plan to follow when I start having an asthma attack and it details how & when I up my meds as well as knowing when to see my Dr ASAP or go to the ER. If I sneeze, I sneeze once!

I take these everyday:
Generic Claritan
Generic Flonase
Pulmacort inhaler

I also carry an Albuterol inhaler with me, but use it on rare occasions.

Hope this helps
Deb
in WI