Asthma diagnosis in young babies?

[midivydale]

Me again:)

Baby ivydale had a recent trip to kings a&e and was diagnosed with bronchities.

Kings were fantastic when i came in and with him and he was thoroughly checked. Bloods, urine, xrays etc.

He had a terrible chesty cough and so the consultant (who was brilliant)spend alot of time on his chest.

The question of asthma came up (alot of asthma history on his father's side).

I remember the consultant saying something about him being to young for an asthma diagnosis (he is 8 months).

We were finally discharged and sent home with an inhalor which fro

What i gather is used to treat asthma.

I should of course have asked all the right questions at the time but i was pre occupied with the immidate concerns for my son.

Did i hear it correct that asthma is not diagnosed in babies, and if so why? Can babies have asthma?

I have never had any allergies so have no experience of this. Baby ivydale has cmpi and now potential (asthma?).

Would be most grateful if anyone could shed any light or share their experiences.

Grateful as always.

C x

Edited to say sorry for typos, i cant seem to get used to the iphone.

[Lochie]

hello :-)

I don't know much about asthma in childhood but I do know that doctors prescribe inhalers for chest infections (and would imagine bronchitis) in children, regardless of whether they have asthma or not. I've had at least 3 inhalers and spacers prescribed for chest infections at this end for child visits to GP over the last 3 years.

I do actually remember the GP saying you can't diagnose asthma until much later on - am sure someone else knows much more about this.

My dad also has a chronic lung condition which means he gets bronchitis around ten times a year and he has an inhaler but is not asthmatic.

Anyway hope little one is healing well. Am sure there are some asthma experts on here!

x

[Belle]

Yes, i think they prefer to hold off until 3 from what i've been told, and up till then it's 'viral induced asthma' or something if it requires an inhaler. I've asked about it a few times though mine have been fortunate to get off lightly in the chestiness stakes. I have chronic asthma myself so am on the lookout!

[buggie]

Roughly, all babies are prone to getting wheezy with colds/chest infections

due to their anatomy & the immaturity of the muscles in the chest related to breathing.

Thus, not all wheezing is asthma (although the treatment may be similar - inhalers/nebulisers as with viral infections the *symptoms* not the cause is being treated).

True asthma will have symptoms even in the absence of underlying infection and unless an ongoing significant history of these symptoms it not be diagnosed under 2yrs of age.

Think there is also something to be said for not wanting to label a child too soon - there are a huge amount of children I see who when asked about previous health problems I'm told they have asthma, only to find out that they've never been treated for it & it only happens with colds/infections!

Fingers crosse Mini-Midivydale does just have viral induced symptoms & is back to his normal self soon :)

[susyp]

I know nothing about this but I did have a conversation with a mum in the playground about my daughter's night time cough which was ongoing (fine now) and she said her son had an inhaler for some yeas for a similar problem from quite little up to about 5 - doesn;t need it now . Not sure if sometimes they give inhalers without the diagnosis just to see if they help.

Also I think that sometimes little ones can have problems that resolve themsleves as they get older - as so often does on the milk allergy front (fingers crossed for you on this one too!).

Also to say that my daughter was unbelivably and constantly ill from the age of 1-2, not sure how old your little one is now but definitely in that yearwe only had a few days here and there when she was well - especially if like me you take her to lots of groups! So may just be viral. Constant colds, coughs, - 3 tummy bugs in 3 months.

susypx

[midivydale]

Thank you all for your replies and to Buggie for your explanation. He has been very poorly but hoping that he is now on the mend. Thanks again

C x

[Belle]

poor wee thing - kisses from all of us x

[Mutrik]

Oh no! Hope he is better soon. (and it would be great to catch up when he is better.) x

[HollieES]

My son was admitted to Kings last year (at around 7 months of age) because he was suddenly struggling to breathe so we took him to A&E where they put him on oxygen and then admitted us. We left a few days later with a diagnosis of viral induced wheezing and the inhalers.

As far as I'm aware, even if your little one is not diagnosed with asthma but shows distress from wheezing, you will have follow up aftercare with the asthma clinic at Kings. In my son's case, I have taken him to the GPs when he has wheezing that I'm not able to control with his inhalers, or that occurs when he shows no other signs of a virus/illness, and he has recently been diagnosed as asthmatic (he's 2). The diagnosis was made on the basis that his father is asthmatic, he has mild eczema on/off, and primarily that he can become very wheezy even when he is in very good health.

My doctor has been great and she is confident that it's something he'll grow out of - as am I.

All I'd say is to keep a note of your little one's wheezing patterns - I.e. time of day it's worse, whether it happens when they have a cold or cough etc. Keep communicating with your GP and never hesitate to take them in and have their chest listened to if you're at all worried.

Good luck and I hope your little one makes a speedy recovery x

[PippaD]

Hey huni, hope lil one is feeling better.

My youngest went thru something similar when he was 16 months. A bad chest infection which returned so steroids were given and nebulisers, from that we were referred to the children's asthma clinic at kings.

He Was diagnosed with childhood asthma, which children are prone to grow out of around 5 years of age

We were given inhalers and have had quite a few episodes over last 3 1/2 years but (saying this while touching wood and fingers crossed!!) we haven't had any need for any inhalers since feb this year.

I'd just take things as they come huni, and if in any doubt call ambulance, they are fantastic at rapid response and have nebulisers for a quicker treatment

Sorry to ramble, hope it made sense and has helped.

[rougepamplemousse]

My daughter had her first episode when she was one and we were on holiday in France... we were in hospital for 3 days and they have taken it very seriously.

When we got back nobody, including GP, A&E in both lewisham and kings have taken it seriously.

What I have done is replaced cow's milk with alternatives - dairy produces too much mucus which is what I noticed she had too much of - and I bought a room humidifier.

She is 18 months now and we finally got some blood tests etc booked so we'll take it from there :)

[chunhat]

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