Question:

[snip] – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – They are called paradoxical effects when the medication incites in your child,  symptoms which the medication is used to treat in other people.  . Atypical response to psychotropic drugs is considered a characteristic of ADHD,  so people with ADHD are at higher risk for paradoxical and adverse re actions drug co.  list on the drugs prescription label. Linda, you clearly have no idea what you’re talking about. Just as with your bizarre statements that ADHD and Tourette Syndrome are "identical twins" and that "according to the DSM IV it is not possible to diagnose [ADHD] for adults," just about everything else you post is complete and utter hogwash.  You have yet to substantiate anything you’ve claimed, but when presented with accurate data, you deny it exists. Personally I wouldn’t go ballistic quite yet–it could be that the particular incident was not pathological and that having been told not to do it again he won’t do it again–he is, after all, a child, and children do sometimes do things which to an adult appear pretty strange and yet according to the logic of childhood are perfectly reasonable.  If it repeats, _then_ I’d go ballistic. Nonethetheless, for the first time in her life Kilonym may have a valid point, however strangely arrived at.

I should have done a more thorough job of snipping. My comment was addressed to her claim that Atypical response to psychotropic drugs is considered a characteristic of ADHD,  so people with ADHD are at higher risk for paradoxical and adverse re actions drug co.  list on the drugs prescription label.

…not the earlier part.       [snip] I think I would talk to the psychiatrist about this possibility if I were in the OP’s situation.  And if he won’t entertain at least the possibility that the behavior is medication-induced I’d get a second opinion.  

That’s good advice. Joe Parsons

Response:

My 10 yr old son has been diagnosed with ADHD for 5 yrs.  School Psycholoist suspects Aspberger’s Syndrome, we’re looking into that more…Yesterday, I discovered 15-20 cuts on the palms of his hands and fingertips.  He said (after much coaxing) that he’d been doing it at school with a needle he found.  They look to be at least 3 or 4 days old, some fresher.   His Psychiatrist asked him to promise never to do it again, and if he did, I’m to take him to the nearby rehab/mental illness clinic.  He’s never been hospitalized, he’d been doing otherwise quite well lately, in January he switched from years of just Adderall to EffexorXR & Strattera.  Dr. doubled his Effexor dose and told me to keep sharp things away from him and alert his teacher to keep an eye out.  I’d never expected this in a milllion years, this is totally unfamiliar ground, and I’m terrified.

Don’t be terrified.  What you’re describing is unusual, but it’s nothing to be ‘terrified’ of.  Of course, it’s a parent’s job to worry, so I’m not saying ‘don’t worry’. Pain can be focusing, and it can, in a very strange way, be soothing, if you’re already hurting inside.  For example, you’re allowed to cry if you’re hurt, but you’re ‘not supposed to cry’ over certain disappointments that don’t cause physical pain.   Self injury or other intentional infliction of pain on ones’ self is not anything at all like pre-suicide.  You should make sure that he’s not suicidal, of course, but you don’t have to be afraid of finding him dead if he’s only engaging in self-inflicted pain.   Generally, the key to breaking self injury is to find another way to cope with overwhelming internal problems.  I’ve heard – and I am *NOT* a professional, and I have *NOT* discussed this with people who self-injure – that in some cases, folks sometimes switch to non-injurious methods of pain infliction. I’m thinking that maybe – *MAYBE* – you need a different psychiatrist (or maybe a psychologist).  I think that the psychiatrist is over-reacting, and doesn’t understand self injury.  I don’t know this; I don’t know the psychiatrist, and I don’t know the full extent of the situation.  But, it’s something to keep in mind… if your son doesn’t seem to be getting better, and the psychiatrist can’t help, it might just be that the psychiatrist can’t understand the problem well enough to help. My gut tells me not to hospitalize him unless it escalates or becomes difficult for him to stop.  I suspect his Dr. told us this to cover herself in case he does hurt himself more drastically, but if this is just a one-shot thing or just odd experimentation on his own skin that will pass, I don’t want to overreact.  I’m terrified, and have never heard of a child this young doing this…Any insights or suggestions from anyone??  I don’t know what to think.  I want to take this seriously, but not freak him out, cause more anxiety, and make it worse.

Well… meditation can help.  Tell him to pick a simple image (I personally like the following: as I breath in, I’m drawing in clean, pure energy from all directions, through my body to a spot about a foot above me (my head if I’m sitting up, my body if I’m lying down; as I breath out, that energy drops to the ground, pulling away ‘icky stuff’ with it) and try to focus on it for a while.  It should be positive, and relaxing, and it should be something that *does* something (like the way my image ‘washes away ickiness (anxiety, etc.)’) It doesn’t matter if his mind wanders; he just wants to bring his mind back to the image as soon as he notices.   Doing this is kind of like rehabilitating an injured muscle.  You’re *NEVER* rough on yourself; you *NEVER* force yourself.  You just keep trying, and doing what you can.  If your mind never stops wandering, well, it probably needs to wander… so let it, just bring it back when you can. This has a three-fold effect.  It relaxes a person; it also gives a person something to do to alleviate internal pain; thirdly, eventually, there’s less anxiety overall, because a person becomes comfident that the meditation will work, and anxiety won’t spiral out of control.  I don’t know if it’ll help with a 10 year old… but it might. Really, and truly: DO NOT panic; you really don’t need to.  *DO* make sure you can trust him if he says that, no, he really doesn’t want to die.  Also, make sure that there’s someone he can talk to about this, someone who will *NOT* talk to you, ever, under any circumstances, unless he reveals an intention to seriously injure or kill himself. This is something that’s embarrassing to nearly anyone, and he simply might not be able to talk to you about it.  Think of it in the same category as obsessive masturbation… just as private and just as embarrassing. Finally, I’m sorry if this is a bit disjointed… I’m pretty tired right now.  I might try to write something more coherent tomorrow. — Everything I needed to know in life I learned in Kindergarten.  Like: "Do not try to understand the bunny; that is impossible.  Instead, try to understand the truth… there *IS* no bunny, but there is still a home to come to."

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – My 10 yr old son has been diagnosed with ADHD for 5 yrs.  School Psycholoist suspects Aspberger’s Syndrome, we’re looking into that more…Yesterday, I discovered 15-20 cuts on the palms of his hands and fingertips.  He said (after much coaxing) that he’d been doing it at school with a needle he found.  They look to be at least 3 or 4 days old, some fresher.   His Psychiatrist asked him to promise never to do it again, and if he did, I’m to take him to the nearby rehab/mental illness clinic.  He’s never been hospitalized, he’d been doing otherwise quite well lately, in January he switched from years of just Adderall to EffexorXR & Strattera.  Dr. doubled his Effexor dose and told me to keep sharp things away from him and alert his teacher to keep an eye out.  I’d never expected this in a milllion years, this is totally unfamiliar ground, and I’m terrified.  My gut tells me not to hospitalize him unless it escalates or becomes difficult for him to stop.  I suspect his Dr. told us this to cover herself in case he does hurt himself more drastically, but if this is just a one-shot thing or just odd experimentation on his own skin that will pass, I don’t want to overreact.  I’m terrified, and have never heard of a child this young doing this…Any insights or suggestions from anyone??  I don’t know what to think.  I want to take this seriously, but not freak him out, cause more anxiety, and make it worse.

Don’t over-react.  I"m a healthy 22 year old, I"ve never self-mutilated, but I can tell you that many of my friends have throughout their lives and they are healthy adults now.  The first person I knew that did it was when we were 5 years old in kindergarden and it’s been going on with various people I’ve known.  Usually, actually, I’m going to say, almost always, it’s not a big deal, it’s not like you’re going to end up killing yourself if you’re puncturing/cutting yourself because it’s usually just skin deep.  It’s usually experimentation, sometimes it’s a sign of sexual/physical abuse or fear.  And to be honest, I don’t know what upping his anti-depressant dosage is going to do.  It might even make it worse because the doctor doesn’t know what is causing it anymore than you or your son do.  It could even be the drug itself. Drugs can also have really odd side-effects.  While on Paxil, I started smoking, which is something that is very harmfull to me since i’m an asthmatic.  I would smoke, have an asthma attack, and repeat. I also lost my appetite, lost 20 lbs and became depressed.  Drugs can have paradoxical effects, and one of the drugs you’re using could be prompting this.  You’re better off having a talk with your son and telling him to come to you/call you whenever he feels the need to hurt himself and talk to you about why he’s feeling it. If your son feels you’re going to panic and drag him to the doctor everytime you notice it, he’s not going to trust you with it and try to hide it in places like his hair, underarms, groin area, etc. and try not to mention it to the doctor. -i

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – My 10 yr old son has been diagnosed with ADHD for 5 yrs.  School Psycholoist suspects Aspberger’s Syndrome, we’re looking into that more…Yesterday, I discovered 15-20 cuts on the palms of his hands and fingertips.  He said (after much coaxing) that he’d been doing it at school with a needle he found.  They look to be at least 3 or 4 days old, some fresher.   His Psychiatrist asked him to promise never to do it again, and if he did, I’m to take him to the nearby rehab/mental illness clinic.  He’s never been hospitalized, he’d been doing otherwise quite well lately, in January he switched from years of just Adderall to EffexorXR & Strattera.  Dr. doubled his Effexor dose and told me to keep sharp things away from him and alert his teacher to keep an eye out.  I’d never expected this in a milllion years, this is totally unfamiliar ground, and I’m terrified.  My gut tells me not to hospitalize him unless it escalates or becomes difficult for him to stop.  I suspect his Dr. told us this to cover herself in case he does hurt himself more drastically, but if this is just a one-shot thing or just odd experimentation on his own skin that will pass, I don’t want to overreact.  I’m terrified, and have never heard of a child this young doing this…Any insights or suggestions from anyone??  I don’t know what to think.  I want to take this seriously, but not freak him out, cause more anxiety, and make it worse. Effexor incites akathisia,  self harm events,  suicidal ideations, homicadal ideations,  psychotic delusions,  etc, etc They are called paradoxical effects when the medication incites in your child,  symptoms which the medication is used to treat in other people.  . Atypical response to psychotropic drugs is considered a characteristic of ADHD,  so people with ADHD are at higher risk for paradoxical and adverse re actions drug co.  list on the drugs prescription label. Linda, you clearly have no idea what you’re talking about. Just as with your bizarre statements that ADHD and Tourette Syndrome are "identical twins" and that "according to the DSM IV it is not possible to diagnose [ADHD] for adults," just about everything else you post is complete and utter hogwash.  You have yet to substantiate anything you’ve claimed, but when presented with accurate data, you deny it exists.

Personally I wouldn’t go ballistic quite yet–it could be that the particular incident was not pathological and that having been told not to do it again he won’t do it again–he is, after all, a child, and children do sometimes do things which to an adult appear pretty strange and yet according to the logic of childhood are perfectly reasonable.  If it repeats, _then_ I’d go ballistic. Nonethetheless, for the first time in her life Kilonym may have a valid point, however strangely arrived at. There was a change in medication and then a change in behavior, which may mean that the problem is medication-induced. OTOH, if the change was in January I’d have expected it to show up sooner than this. OTGH, my reaction to Strattera seemed to be progressive, getting worse over time, so it’s concievable that it just took that long for his reaction to his medications to develop to a point where he started engaging in self-destructive behaviors. Please note that I am not blaming Strattera–it could be an atypical (not "paradoxical" necessarily) reaction to Strattera, to Effexor, to the two in combination, or it could be completely unrelated.   One thing that does concern me though is that according to the prescribing information, both Effexor and Strattera are norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, which if I understand their funcitioning correctly would increase the amount of norepinephrine in the synaptic gap.  OTOH, self-mutilation seems to often be treated with medications that block the action of norepinephrine, so it would seem to me that it is perfectly reasonable that using two norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors at the same time could potentially cause self-mutilation. It might be that the psychiatrist’s intention is to kick up the seratonin a bit and the norepinephrine a lot (Effexor works on both norepinephrine and seratonin while Strattera is selective for norepinephrine) but I find myself wondering if he just wasn’t thinking about the fact that the two do the same thing. I think I would talk to the psychiatrist about this possibility if I were in the OP’s situation.  And if he won’t entertain at least the possibility that the behavior is medication-induced I’d get a second opinion.   Joe Parsons

– –John Reply to jclarke at ae tee tee global dot net (was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – My 10 yr old son has been diagnosed with ADHD for 5 yrs.  School Psycholoist suspects Aspberger’s Syndrome, we’re looking into that more…Yesterday, I discovered 15-20 cuts on the palms of his hands and fingertips.  He said (after much coaxing) that he’d been doing it at school with a needle he found.  They look to be at least 3 or 4 days old, some fresher.   His Psychiatrist asked him to promise never to do it again, and if he did, I’m to take him to the nearby rehab/mental illness clinic.  He’s never been hospitalized, he’d been doing otherwise quite well lately, in January he switched from years of just Adderall to EffexorXR & Strattera.  Dr. doubled his Effexor dose and told me to keep sharp things away from him and alert his teacher to keep an eye out.  I’d never expected this in a milllion years, this is totally unfamiliar ground, and I’m terrified.  My gut tells me not to hospitalize him unless it escalates or becomes difficult for him to stop.  I suspect his Dr. told us this to cover herself in case he does hurt himself more drastically, but if this is just a one-shot thing or just odd experimentation on his own skin that will pass, I don’t want to overreact.  I’m terrified, and have never heard of a child this young doing this…Any insights or suggestions from anyone??  I don’t know what to think.  I want to take this seriously, but not freak him out, cause more anxiety, and make it worse. Effexor incites akathisia,  self harm events,  suicidal ideations, homicadal ideations,  psychotic delusions,  etc, etc They are called paradoxical effects when the medication incites in your child,  symptoms which the medication is used to treat in other people.  . Atypical response to psychotropic drugs is considered a characteristic of ADHD,  so people with ADHD are at higher risk for paradoxical and adverse re actions drug co.  list on the drugs prescription label.

Linda, you clearly have no idea what you’re talking about. Just as with your bizarre statements that ADHD and Tourette Syndrome are "identical twins" and that "according to the DSM IV it is not possible to diagnose [ADHD] for adults," just about everything else you post is complete and utter hogwash.  You have yet to substantiate anything you’ve claimed, but when presented with accurate data, you deny it exists. Joe Parsons

Response:

My 10 yr old son has been diagnosed with ADHD for 5 yrs.  School Psycholoist suspects Aspberger’s Syndrome, we’re looking into that more…Yesterday, I discovered 15-20 cuts on the palms of his hands and fingertips.  He said (after much coaxing) that he’d been doing it at school with a needle he found.  They look to be at least 3 or 4 days old, some fresher.   His Psychiatrist asked him to promise never to do it again, and if he did, I’m to take him to the nearby rehab/mental illness clinic.  He’s never been hospitalized, he’d been doing otherwise quite well lately, in January he switched from years of just Adderall to EffexorXR & Strattera.  Dr. doubled his Effexor dose and told me to keep sharp things away from him and alert his teacher to keep an eye out.  I’d never expected this in a milllion years, this is totally unfamiliar ground, and I’m terrified.  My gut tells me not to hospitalize him unless it escalates or becomes difficult for him to stop.  I suspect his Dr. told us this to cover herself in case he does hurt himself more drastically, but if this is just a one-shot thing or just odd experimentation on his own skin that will pass, I don’t want to overreact.  I’m terrified, and have never heard of a child this young doing this…Any insights or suggestions from anyone??  I don’t know what to think.  I want to take this seriously, but not freak him out, cause more anxiety, and make it worse.

Response:

As far as I know, self-mutilation may be associated with autism; Asperger’s Syndrome is considered an "Autistic Spectrum Disorder".  The fact that the school psychologist suspects Asperger’s is further evidence that this may be the case.  I would advise seeking a psychiatrist (not psychologist) that specializes in autism. SSRI’s (like Prozac, Luvox, Celexa, Lexapro, etc.) are often prescribed to help with autism.  Note that autism may have some relationship with anxiety, and anxiety disorders (including General Anxiety Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) are also often treated with SSRI’s.  So you should probably watch for anxiety and perhaps OCD-like symptoms. Don’t worry too much about the word "autism".  Obviously, your son isn’t severely impaired, or he would have been diagnosed with autism much sooner. Asperger’s, if that is in fact a correct diagnosis, is considered a "mild" form of autism. About the medications, to my knowledge Strattera and Effexor have similar (but not identical) properties – both, I believe, act as SNRI’s (with Effexor being the weaker of the two.)  But Effexor also acts as a mild SSRI as well.  (Again, this is from memory based on what I’ve read while researching ADD and OCD.)  Anyway, if your son is truly an Aspie (as people with Asperger’s refer to themselves), then perhaps a stronger SSRI (like those named above) would be in order. Why was his medication changed from Adderall to Effexor XR + Strattera?  Had its effectiveness decreased?  Were there other symptoms? Another possibility is bipolar disorder – its symptoms can mimic those of ADHD.  He could even have a combination of bipolarism plus anxiety/OCD/Asperger’s. The bottom line is that you should take him to a specialist.  He may need his meds adjusted.  But I’m sure he’ll be fine – you would have had many more problems by now if he were severely affected by autism or whatever. You may also want to visit the newsgroups ‘alt.support.autism’ and ‘alt.support.ocd’. Good luck. Mike – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – My 10 yr old son has been diagnosed with ADHD for 5 yrs.  School Psycholoist suspects Aspberger’s Syndrome, we’re looking into that more…Yesterday, I discovered 15-20 cuts on the palms of his hands and fingertips.  He said (after much coaxing) that he’d been doing it at school with a needle he found.  They look to be at least 3 or 4 days old, some fresher.   His Psychiatrist asked him to promise never to do it again, and if he did, I’m to take him to the nearby rehab/mental illness clinic.  He’s never been hospitalized, he’d been doing otherwise quite well lately, in January he switched from years of just Adderall to EffexorXR & Strattera.  Dr. doubled his Effexor dose and told me to keep sharp things away from him and alert his teacher to keep an eye out.  I’d never expected this in a milllion years, this is totally unfamiliar ground, and I’m terrified.  My gut tells me not to hospitalize him unless it escalates or becomes difficult for him to stop.  I suspect his Dr. told us this to cover herself in case he does hurt himself more drastically, but if this is just a one-shot thing or just odd experimentation on his own skin that will pass, I don’t want to overreact.  I’m terrified, and have never heard of a child this young doing this…Any insights or suggestions from anyone??  I don’t know what to think.  I want to take this seriously, but not freak him out, cause more anxiety, and make it worse.

Response:

Question:

To relieve the throat soreness that’s from the coughing itself, one of my doctors recommended a very simple product that’s available in any convenience store and gas station here in Canada: Fisherman’s Friend cough drops. I’m not sure if that’s a uniquely Canadian product or not though. That did help, and I also found on my own that zinc lozenges helped. What I found is that when you cough a lot due to asthma, you eventually also cough just because you cough. In other words, the irritation that the coughing causes itself causes more coughing, like a vicious circle. Pierre – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – (snipped) By the way, do you do anything special for your throat when it gets sore from coughing?  I’ve had a couple of bad attacks at night and can barely talk the next morning. Mela

Response:

Great!  Yeah, you can get Fisherman’s Friends any where.  Thanks, I’ll try that! Mela – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – To relieve the throat soreness that’s from the coughing itself, one of my doctors recommended a very simple product that’s available in any convenience store and gas station here in Canada: Fisherman’s Friend cough drops. I’m not sure if that’s a uniquely Canadian product or not though. That did help, and I also found on my own that zinc lozenges helped. What I found is that when you cough a lot due to asthma, you eventually also cough just because you cough. In other words, the irritation that the coughing causes itself causes more coughing, like a vicious circle. Pierre

(snipped) By the way, do you do anything special for your throat when it gets sore from coughing?  I’ve had a couple of bad attacks at night and can barely talk the next morning. Mela

Before you buy.

Response:

Asthma can be cough variant. I only wheeze when I am having major problems. Most of the time, I am in the ER already. Cough variant asthma is treated the same as classic asthma. Asthma and coughing   Help Hi, I was told I had asthma years ago and I now take Ventolin as a reliever when I get an attack but I only recently realised that the most obvious sign of an asthma attack is wheezing. However, I do not wheeze – I only have coughing fits and / or have a very ‘tight’ feeling in my chest where I have to consciously take a breath. I have only ever wheezed when the coughing has gotten to a stage when I can no longer get enough air to cough. The normal asthma triggers cause these coughing fits (most especially if I have a cold) such as evening / cold air, exercise without warming up, pollen, smoke, etc.

Question:

I would reinforce Kathie’s comments about tapering off Intal.  For my daughter a viral infection would strike so suddenly that it often took two days before her attack could be controlled.  With preventative medications this pattern of sudden onset wheezing everytime she caught a bug was stopped. Another tip for recognizing wheezing is to observe the top of your child’s breastbone. With normal breathing there is little movement in the neck area.  As breathing difficulties increase many children show a "sucking in" – the area just above the sternum pulls in and creates pockets. The deeper the pockets – the more discomfort the child is experiencing. For my daughter this observation worked well for early detection, however the sooner your child can use a peak flow meter the better! My 2 yr old was diagnosed with asthma – he wheezes when he gets upper respitory infections, coughing and congestion.  He is on Intal (chromolyn)….

Kathie replied: – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – First of all, have you asked your doctor about taking him off the drug?  If Intal is helping, it is a relatively mild drug. If he has trouble breathing when he plays hard, I would think twice about taking him off the medication. The easiest way to identify difficult breathing in a toddler is to observe their body langauge. Wheezing is not the only sign of an asthma attack.  While I definitely had more wheezing as a child, there where lots of times I couldn’t breathe – but wasn’t wheezing.  As an adult – I rarely wheeze.

Response:

My 2 yr old was diagnosed with asthma – he wheezes when he gets upper respitory infections, coughing and congestion.  He is on Intal (chromolyn) in a nebulizer 3 – 4 times a day indefinintely.  Now his lungs are clear and we want to taper off the Intal and monitor him.  I need some clarification on what a wheeze actually is.  He’s too young to tell us. We need to know what signs to look for and to be able to differentiate the wheeze from normal breathing.  Also when he plays hard with other kids he has hard breathing.  Unlike his older brother.

First of all, have you asked your doctor about taking him off the drug?  If Intal is helping, it is a relatively mild drug. If he has trouble breathing when he plays hard, I would think twice about taking him off the medication. The easiest way to identify difficult breathing in a toddler is to observe their body langauge.  Asthmatics of all ages who are having difficulty breathing may find themselves sitting up with hands or elbows on knees hunched over.  Wanting more than a thin pillow when sleeping is another common sign.  Not wanting to lie down when breathing hard.  Slightly blue lips is a pretty late sign of breathing problems – but slightly blue fingers (under the fingernails) tends to be observable before that.  Heavy breathing – esp. when you can observe the chest moving is another sign of difficulty. Wheezing is not the only sign of an asthma attack.  While I definitely had more wheezing as a child, there where lots of times I couldn’t breathe – but wasn’t wheezing.  As an adult – I rarely wheeze.   Good luck with your son! — Kathie Sindt

Response:

I need some clarification on what a wheeze actually is.  He’s too young to tell us. We need to know what signs to look for and to be able to differentiate the wheeze from normal breathing.

There are two different sorts of wheezes – inhalation and exhalation. Most asmatha attacks involve simply the latter – exhallation.  This is the one that makes the most noise and you can audibally tell your child is wheezing. Inhallation attacks will seldom occur without the exhalation attacks and make almost no noise. Coughing is definately a sign of an attack dur to mucos build up in the lungs. Common Y’all out there reading this – I’m sure there are 100 other symptoms I’m not thinking of …

Response:

My 2 yr old was diagnosed with asthma – he wheezes when he gets upper respitory infections, coughing and congestion.  He is on Intal (chromolyn) in a nebulizer 3 – 4 times a day indefinintely.  Now his lungs are clear and we want to taper off the Intal and monitor him.  I need some clarification on what a wheeze actually is.  He’s too young to tell us. We need to know what signs to look for and to be able to differentiate the wheeze from normal breathing.  Also when he plays hard with other kids he has hard breathing.  Unlike his older brother.

Response:

My 2 yr old was diagnosed with asthma – he wheezes when he gets upper respitory infections, coughing and congestion.  He is on Intal (chromolyn) in a nebulizer 3 – 4 times a day indefinintely.  Now his lungs are clear and we want to taper off the Intal and monitor him.  I need some clarification on what a wheeze actually is.  He’s too young to tell us. We need to know what signs to look for and to be able to differentiate the wheeze from normal breathing.  Also when he plays hard with other kids he has hard breathing.  Unlike his older brother.

Hi, First.  Don’t be in any hurry to taper off the Intal.  Intal is an unusually safe medicine.  If you taper it off, the next time your child gets a cold, the asthma will probably flare up again.  Keeping him on the 3-4 treatments a day might prevent this. Second.  Explain your desire to be able to tell when you son is wheezing to your doctor or his office staff.  You can purchase an expensive stethoscope at the local pharmacy.  The doctor or his staff can teach you how to use it.  The next time your son has problems you can listen along with the doctor or office staff and they can explain to you.  Its is great idea to listed when your son is not having problems, then it will be pretty obvious when he is wheezing.  Generally it is a highpitched sound, but sometimes it can be low pitched sort of like someone sawing a piece of wood.   Best wishes, Bill

Response:

Question:

Here is a leaflet I ran into, which describes clearly and simply the immune system:

It does seem to cover the important point reasonably, but is missing the single most important defence system – the skin – a phsical barrirer against infection. Paul

Response:

Here is a leaflet I ran into, which describes clearly and simply the immune system: YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM – A Key to Good Health by Vicky McLean Each one of us has an immune system. Without it we wouldn’t survive for very long. In everyday life we are constantly exposed to organisms that could be harmful to us. Our immune system’s job is to fight off harmful organisms and keep us healthy. The immune system is very complex and powerful. You could spend a lifetime learning about it. This article will give you some idea of how it works, what happens when it isn’t working properly, the sorts of pressures your immune system comes under daily and what you can do to keep your immune system in good shape. <<<YOUR  IMMUNE  SYSTEM Firstly a bit about the harmful materials your body has to fight off. Harmful materials are known as *antigens*. Antigens come in several different  forms’ and are found in our surrounding environment, our food, other people we come in contact with or within our bodies. The following organisms are antigens: – Microbes such as viruses, bacteria and yeast; – Parasites such as worms; – Foreign tissues such as transplanted organs; – Poisons such as chemicals in our food, water and air; – Dust and pollens. The first step in the immune process is when your system recognises that an antigen has entered your body. Once the antigen has been spotted, an amazing process of speedy, efficient  teamwork’ springs into action to get rid of it before it does too much damage. Your immune system responds differently to different intruders. In deciding which response to implement, the different parts of your immune system communicate with each other via chemical massages sent through the blood stream. <<WHITE BLOOD CELLS In your blood you have red and white blood cells. The red blood cells are more plentiful. It is their job to carry oxygen to various parts of the body. It is the job of the white blood cells to protect you against harmful materials. There are several types of white blood cells. Each one has its own job in the overall system. The main types are *macrophages* and *lymphocytes*. <MACROPHAGES Macrophages can be blamed for making you feel lousy when you’ve got the flu. Those aches and pains and fevers feel rotten but are actually a sign that your immune system has jumped into action and is doing its best to get rid of a virus. It is the macrophages’ job to detect an intruding organism when it enters the body. Once the intruder has been spotted, the macrophages send a chemical message into the blood. This chemical alerts the rest of the immune system that an outsider has been detected. It also causes the body temperature to rise because a higher body temperature enables the immune system to work faster. The same chemical gets into the muscle fibres. It breaks the fibres down so that nutrients can be released from the muscles to help fight off the virus. This leaves you with aches and pains and a feeling of not wanting to get out of bed. Macrophages also carry out the important job of moving in and cleaning up after the antigen has been fought off. They can gobble up or engulf dead cells and tissue they find hanging around the infected site. <LYMPHOCYTES There are different types of lymphocytes but the main types are B-lymphocytes (B-Cells) and T-lymphocytes (T-Cells). B-CELLS B-Cells are called thus because they are formed in the bone marrow. From there they migrate into the blood stream. The main function of these cells is to produce *antibodies*. Antibodies are substances that are custom-made to act on ONE antigen only. Once some of the B-Cells receive information about a particular antigen that has entered the body they start to produce lots of antibodies to act on that antigen. Those B-Cells are then destined to produce that antibody and no other for the rest of their lives. When the antigen has been destroyed, most of the B-Cells involved in fighting it off retire as the job has been done. However, a few remain in the blood stream and become known as *memory cells*. Should their special antibody ever be needed again, they will be floating around in the blood stream ready to produce it in large quantities. This process is known as *autoimmunity*. It explains why if you get something like chicken pox when you are a child, you probably won’t get it again even if you are re-exposed to the virus that causes it. You already have the B-Cells in your blood just waiting to be called on to fight it off. Even though you may get a common cold each winter, it is not actually caused by the same virus each year. You develop antibodies to one year’s cold virus, but the next year another virus causes the cold. You then have to develop antibodies to fight off the new cold virus. *Immunisation* works on the same autoimmunity principle. It is the process of injecting a small amount of a particular antigen into your body. Your body will then develop antibodies for the antigen. If you are re-exposed to that antigen at a later date, you will be able to fight it off. You are then said to be immune to a particular disease. T-CELLS T-Cells have become famous (or infamous) recently because of their role in AIDS. T-Cells are called thus because they migrate from the bone marrow to the thymus in the developing foetus. Once in the thymus, they mature and start to specialise into different types of cells. These are three of the most important types of T-Cells: – Killer T-Cells rush to the site of the infection and kill the intruding organism. – Helper T-Cells stimulate other parts of the immune system to carry out their jobs. For example they coax B-Cells into producing more antibodies and stimulate macrophages into eating dead cells. – Suppressor T-Cells suppress the immune response once the job of fighting off the harmful organism has been completed. These cells stop the immune system from running out of control. <<<A MALFUNCTIONING IMMUNE SYSTEM The immune system is very powerful. When it is functioning well, it does a fantastic job. However, when it is not functioning well, it can have quite dramatic effects. Problems with the immune system arise from it working either too well or not well enough. <<AN OVER-WORKING IMMUNE SYSTEM <AUTO-IMMUNE DISEASES As we have seen, the immune system seeks out harmful organisms and then goes about destroying them. A critical requirement in this process is that the immune system distinguish between materials that are NOT harmful (*self-cells*), and those that ARE harmful (antigens). Immune system cells are trained to distinguish between the two in the developing foetus. However, at times, something in the immune system goes wrong and it starts attacking self-cells as if they were harmful intruders. The ability to distinguish between  good’ and  bad’ is somehow lost. Diseases resulting from this process are known as autoimmune diseases. Examples of such diseases are: rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, systemic lupus, psoriasis and pernicious anaemia. <ALLERGIES Allergies to particular substances such as pollens, dust or certain foods are caused by an over reaction of the immune system. The over reaction causes the side effects associated with allergies. As explained earlier, antibodies that are made ti respond to particular antigens travel throughout the blood to the point of infection. To speed up this process a chemical called *histamine* is released into the blood stream to make the blood vessels relax so that blood can flow through them more quickly. This in turn speeds up the immune system response to an intruder. Histamines are stored in cells called *mast cells*, which are dotted around the body. The mast cells are supposed to act locally and only release histamine into the area around the infection. However, sometimes too many histamines are produced. The local effect is then exaggerated and this causes an allergic reaction. Histamines cause blood vessels to swell and airways to contract. When blood vessels swell, fluid may leak out and cause a swollen blocked nose, for example. When airways contract, a person may have trouble breathing or may have an asthma attack. <<AN UNDER-WORKING IMMUNE SYSTEM Problems resulting from an under-working immune system are probably more common than those resulting from an over-working one. They range from not being able to fight off a common cold or heal a small infection, through to more chronic conditions such as CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME, and some sexually transmitted diseases. <<<PRESSURES ON OUR IMMUNE SYSTEM Pressures that tend to weaken our immune systems in our modern society are: <STRESS Generally, we are leading increasingly busy and stressful lives. Stress refers to anything that knocks us off course or disturbs the status-quo in our bodies. It may come from a demanding job or relationship, or it may be climatic, and stem from sudden changes in the weather. <FOOD Both the quantity and the quality of the food we eat affects our immune system. Many chemicals and other additives are put into the food chain. They may lower the nutritional value of our food and add toxins to our system. It has also been found that either too much or too little food can affect the functioning of our immune system. <POLLUTION Pollution in the air we breathe and the water we drink adds extra toxins to our bodies and can weaken our whole system. <DRUGS The widespread use of drugs, such as anti-biotics and paracetamol, to treat illnesses can sometimes mask our health problems rather than fixing them. Some drugs have side effects that can suppress our immune system. <<<KEEPING OUR IMMUNE SYSTEM HEALTHY We can take care of our immune system by living a common sense healthy lifestyle. This could include: – Being aware of how your immune system works and its role in keeping you healthy; – eating good things regularly (for … read more »

Response:

Question:

Here is a leaflet I ran into, which describes clearly and simply the immune system: YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM – A Key to Good Health by Vicky McLean Each one of us has an immune system. Without it we wouldn’t survive for very long. In everyday life we are constantly exposed to organisms that could be harmful to us. Our immune system’s job is to fight off harmful organisms and keep us healthy. The immune system is very complex and powerful. You could spend a lifetime learning about it. This article will give you some idea of how it works, what happens when it isn’t working properly, the sorts of pressures your immune system comes under daily and what you can do to keep your immune system in good shape. <<<YOUR  IMMUNE  SYSTEM Firstly a bit about the harmful materials your body has to fight off. Harmful materials are known as *antigens*. Antigens come in several different  forms’ and are found in our surrounding environment, our food, other people we come in contact with or within our bodies. The following organisms are antigens: – Microbes such as viruses, bacteria and yeast; – Parasites such as worms; – Foreign tissues such as transplanted organs; – Poisons such as chemicals in our food, water and air; – Dust and pollens. The first step in the immune process is when your system recognises that an antigen has entered your body. Once the antigen has been spotted, an amazing process of speedy, efficient  teamwork’ springs into action to get rid of it before it does too much damage. Your immune system responds differently to different intruders. In deciding which response to implement, the different parts of your immune system communicate with each other via chemical massages sent through the blood stream. <<WHITE BLOOD CELLS In your blood you have red and white blood cells. The red blood cells are more plentiful. It is their job to carry oxygen to various parts of the body. It is the job of the white blood cells to protect you against harmful materials. There are several types of white blood cells. Each one has its own job in the overall system. The main types are *macrophages* and *lymphocytes*. <MACROPHAGES Macrophages can be blamed for making you feel lousy when you’ve got the flu. Those aches and pains and fevers feel rotten but are actually a sign that your immune system has jumped into action and is doing its best to get rid of a virus. It is the macrophages’ job to detect an intruding organism when it enters the body. Once the intruder has been spotted, the macrophages send a chemical message into the blood. This chemical alerts the rest of the immune system that an outsider has been detected. It also causes the body temperature to rise because a higher body temperature enables the immune system to work faster. The same chemical gets into the muscle fibres. It breaks the fibres down so that nutrients can be released from the muscles to help fight off the virus. This leaves you with aches and pains and a feeling of not wanting to get out of bed. Macrophages also carry out the important job of moving in and cleaning up after the antigen has been fought off. They can gobble up or engulf dead cells and tissue they find hanging around the infected site. <LYMPHOCYTES There are different types of lymphocytes but the main types are B-lymphocytes (B-Cells) and T-lymphocytes (T-Cells). B-CELLS B-Cells are called thus because they are formed in the bone marrow. From there they migrate into the blood stream. The main function of these cells is to produce *antibodies*. Antibodies are substances that are custom-made to act on ONE antigen only. Once some of the B-Cells receive information about a particular antigen that has entered the body they start to produce lots of antibodies to act on that antigen. Those B-Cells are then destined to produce that antibody and no other for the rest of their lives. When the antigen has been destroyed, most of the B-Cells involved in fighting it off retire as the job has been done. However, a few remain in the blood stream and become known as *memory cells*. Should their special antibody ever be needed again, they will be floating around in the blood stream ready to produce it in large quantities. This process is known as *autoimmunity*. It explains why if you get something like chicken pox when you are a child, you probably won’t get it again even if you are re-exposed to the virus that causes it. You already have the B-Cells in your blood just waiting to be called on to fight it off. Even though you may get a common cold each winter, it is not actually caused by the same virus each year. You develop antibodies to one year’s cold virus, but the next year another virus causes the cold. You then have to develop antibodies to fight off the new cold virus. *Immunisation* works on the same autoimmunity principle. It is the process of injecting a small amount of a particular antigen into your body. Your body will then develop antibodies for the antigen. If you are re-exposed to that antigen at a later date, you will be able to fight it off. You are then said to be immune to a particular disease. T-CELLS T-Cells have become famous (or infamous) recently because of their role in AIDS. T-Cells are called thus because they migrate from the bone marrow to the thymus in the developing foetus. Once in the thymus, they mature and start to specialise into different types of cells. These are three of the most important types of T-Cells: – Killer T-Cells rush to the site of the infection and kill the intruding organism. – Helper T-Cells stimulate other parts of the immune system to carry out their jobs. For example they coax B-Cells into producing more antibodies and stimulate macrophages into eating dead cells. – Suppressor T-Cells suppress the immune response once the job of fighting off the harmful organism has been completed. These cells stop the immune system from running out of control. <<<A MALFUNCTIONING IMMUNE SYSTEM The immune system is very powerful. When it is functioning well, it does a fantastic job. However, when it is not functioning well, it can have quite dramatic effects. Problems with the immune system arise from it working either too well or not well enough. <<AN OVER-WORKING IMMUNE SYSTEM <AUTO-IMMUNE DISEASES As we have seen, the immune system seeks out harmful organisms and then goes about destroying them. A critical requirement in this process is that the immune system distinguish between materials that are NOT harmful (*self-cells*), and those that ARE harmful (antigens). Immune system cells are trained to distinguish between the two in the developing foetus. However, at times, something in the immune system goes wrong and it starts attacking self-cells as if they were harmful intruders. The ability to distinguish between  good’ and  bad’ is somehow lost. Diseases resulting from this process are known as autoimmune diseases. Examples of such diseases are: rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, systemic lupus, psoriasis and pernicious anaemia. <ALLERGIES Allergies to particular substances such as pollens, dust or certain foods are caused by an over reaction of the immune system. The over reaction causes the side effects associated with allergies. As explained earlier, antibodies that are made ti respond to particular antigens travel throughout the blood to the point of infection. To speed up this process a chemical called *histamine* is released into the blood stream to make the blood vessels relax so that blood can flow through them more quickly. This in turn speeds up the immune system response to an intruder. Histamines are stored in cells called *mast cells*, which are dotted around the body. The mast cells are supposed to act locally and only release histamine into the area around the infection. However, sometimes too many histamines are produced. The local effect is then exaggerated and this causes an allergic reaction. Histamines cause blood vessels to swell and airways to contract. When blood vessels swell, fluid may leak out and cause a swollen blocked nose, for example. When airways contract, a person may have trouble breathing or may have an asthma attack. <<AN UNDER-WORKING IMMUNE SYSTEM Problems resulting from an under-working immune system are probably more common than those resulting from an over-working one. They range from not being able to fight off a common cold or heal a small infection, through to more chronic conditions such as CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME, and some sexually transmitted diseases. <<<PRESSURES ON OUR IMMUNE SYSTEM Pressures that tend to weaken our immune systems in our modern society are: <STRESS Generally, we are leading increasingly busy and stressful lives. Stress refers to anything that knocks us off course or disturbs the status-quo in our bodies. It may come from a demanding job or relationship, or it may be climatic, and stem from sudden changes in the weather. <FOOD Both the quantity and the quality of the food we eat affects our immune system. Many chemicals and other additives are put into the food chain. They may lower the nutritional value of our food and add toxins to our system. It has also been found that either too much or too little food can affect the functioning of our immune system. <POLLUTION Pollution in the air we breathe and the water we drink adds extra toxins to our bodies and can weaken our whole system. <DRUGS The widespread use of drugs, such as anti-biotics and paracetamol, to treat illnesses can sometimes mask our health problems rather than fixing them. Some drugs have side effects that can suppress our immune system. <<<KEEPING OUR IMMUNE SYSTEM HEALTHY We can take care of our immune system by living a common sense healthy lifestyle. This could include: – Being aware of how your immune system works and its role in keeping you healthy; – eating good things regularly (for … read more »

Response:

Here is a leaflet I ran into, which describes clearly and simply the immune system:

It does seem to cover the important point reasonably, but is missing the single most important defence system – the skin – a phsical barrirer against infection. Paul

Response:

Question:

You should be careful of children coughing at this young age. This can be sign of asthma because of the lack of smooth muscle. So, if you change all of the things noted in these replies and the coughing continues, you may check for asthma. You can do this by checking the peak flow rates by using a peak flow meter from your pediatrican. This time of year is common for allergic asthma reactions. Bruce McLean (619) 940-6166

Response:

We have recently adopted a child with a known athsma problem. Fortunately, his asthma is not bad and we have only had a few dealings with it.  We have been doing tons of reading and question asking with our child’s doctor.  I would like to know from the parents of young kids with this problem what signs they look for?   Please cc: responses to my email address: timh…@ix.netcom.com Thanks!

Response:

In article <4nonea$…@dfw-ixnews4.ix.netcom.com> timh…@ix.netcom.com(Timothy A Hawn) writes: >  We have recently adopted a child with a known athsma problem. >  Fortunately, his asthma is not bad and we have only had a few dealings >  with it.  We have been doing tons of reading and question asking with >  our child’s doctor.  I would like to know from the parents of young >  kids with this problem what signs they look for?  

For young children with a tendency toward asthma, any virus could trigger asthma, so we watch much closer during viruses and are more likely to take the child in for breathing checks. We also watch for retractions – any sign of the skin pulling in around the ribs or at the base of the throat is a potential warning sign. Increased breathing rate is a sign. Now that our kids are older, they have a particular "hyper-talk" – a fast-paced breathless nonstop talking that immediately sends us to the peak flow meter, the nebulizer and/or to Urgent Care. We have dust-proofed their bedrooms, dust-proof covered their pillows mattresses, and found new homes for our pets, all to help reduce their tendency toward bronchospasm. We now know to watch for signs of sinusitis after upper respiratory viruses. The typical pattern is to get a cold, to have it for a few days, and then to develop a low-to-moderate fever. For our kids, this is an almost certain indication of a sinusitis, which is often followed by their more severe asthma episodes. The trick is to get them on antibiotics and increased inhaled meds before the asthma kicks in. Our oldest now uses a steroid nasal spray to prevent sinusitis; this and other measures have kept him off of prednisone and out of Urgent Care for several years. An ounce of anticipatory anxiety (and action) is worth a pound of prednisone! Good luck and good health, Mark — ————————————————————————- Mark Feblowitz,   GTE Laboratories Inc., 40 Sylvan Rd.  Waltham, MA 02254 mfeblow…@GTE.com, (617) 466-2947, fax: (617) 466-2618

Response:

Timothy A Hawn (timh…@ix.netcom.com) wrote: : We have recently adopted a child with a known athsma problem. : Fortunately, his asthma is not bad and we have only had a few dealings : with it.  We have been doing tons of reading and question asking with : our child’s doctor.  I would like to know from the parents of young : kids with this problem what signs they look for?   : Please cc: responses to my email address: timh…@ix.netcom.com : Thanks! There aren’t really too many prewarning signs.  Excess coughing and wheezing usually happen. Debbie

Response:

In article <4okact$…@newstand.syr.edu>, dasi…@mailbox.syr.edu wrote: > Timothy A Hawn (timh…@ix.netcom.com) wrote: > : We have recently adopted a child with a known athsma problem. > : Fortunately, his asthma is not bad and we have only had a few dealings > : with it.  We have been doing tons of reading and question asking with > : our child’s doctor.  I would like to know from the parents of young > : kids with this problem what signs they look for?   > : Please cc: responses to my email address: timh…@ix.netcom.com > : Thanks! > There aren’t really too many prewarning signs.  Excess coughing and > wheezing usually happen.

Our son’s asthma is usually precipitated by a cold or some respiratory virus.  Also, we know that certain times of the year are worse than others (spring/fall are worse than winter/summer).   I guess it all depends on the child and what sets off the asthma attacks.  When your child has an attach – think about what’s been going on… has the weather changed alot, does the child have another illness (eg, cold, flu), etc. Coughing and wheezing are definite signs.  Also, look at your childs chest when he/she breathes.  Is he/she laboring to get a breath?  For us, that’s a sure sign that our son is struggling to breath and may be having an asthma attack. This is all our experience, YMMV. > Debbie

GregB

Response:

In article <begay-3005961159180…@hpbegay.gr.hp.com>, be…@gr.hp.com – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -(Greg Begay) wrote: > In article <4okact$…@newstand.syr.edu>, dasi…@mailbox.syr.edu wrote: > > Timothy A Hawn (timh…@ix.netcom.com) wrote: > > : We have recently adopted a child with a known athsma problem. > > : Fortunately, his asthma is not bad and we have only had a few dealings > > : with it.  We have been doing tons of reading and question asking with > > : our child’s doctor.  I would like to know from the parents of young > > : kids with this problem what signs they look for?   > > : Please cc: responses to my email address: timh…@ix.netcom.com > > : Thanks! > > There aren’t really too many prewarning signs.  Excess coughing and > > wheezing usually happen.

My son who will be 4 in 20 days has asthma. He has had asthma since he was a baby but but wasn’t diagnosed until he was about 2. I always thought people we only effected by asthma in the spring and summer seasons. Well, I was wrong. I have two boys, 13 months apart. Like any siblings they usually get sick together. My older son, Joseph would have a mild cold and recover very quickly. And my younger son, Michael would start off with a mild cold, and then, boom he not breathing well. It scared the daylights out of me. I remember him sleeping in a stroller and me on the couch. Every 15 to 30 minutes he’d wake up breathing bad, so I would wheel him out side for 10 minutes until his breathing was better and he was asleep and wheel him back in the house. Very exhausting. As is stands now, when Michael has the slightest sign of a cold he is but on Albuterol Syrup, which works wonders. His cold still lasts longer than Joseph’s but at least he doesn’t have trouble breathing. And now  he is really starting to listen to his body and he will take rest breaks when outside playing. On the a good note they say that when you have asthma as a child you usually outgrow it. I hope this is true. Good luck. Jodie

Response:

In article <4nonea$…@dfw-ixnews4.ix.netcom.com>, timh…@ix.netcom.com(Timothy A Hawn) writes:

:We have recently adopted a child with a known athsma problem. :Fortunately, his asthma is not bad and we have only had a few dealings :with it.  We have been doing tons of reading and question asking with ur child’s doctor.  I would like to know from the parents of young :kids with this problem what signs they look for?   : lease cc: responses to my email address: timh…@ix.netcom.com : :Thanks! Dark circles under the eyes indicate a lack of oxygen. Wheezing breathing but you can’t always hear this without a stethoscope. Obviously labored breathing. An early indication of this is when the soft spot at the base of the throat is sucked inwards for each breath. This is one of the best indicators for very young children. Unusual crankiness. Lack of oxygen affects the brain and moods, so if you’re doing something the child usually likes and they’re unusually cranky, s/he may be having trouble breathing. Blue fingernails indicate a lack of oxygen. Listlessness is a sign of oxygen deprivation. It’s difficult to monitor asthma in very young children. It helps if you teach the child to tell an adult when they’re having respiratory problems. — Merle Finch  me…@sas.com  SAS Institute Inc,         SAS Campus Dr, Cary NC USA 27513-2414. Opinions expressed probably never reflect those of SAS Institute Inc.

Response:

Merle Finch (me…@jane.unx.sas.com) wrote:

: Dark circles under the eyes indicate a lack of oxygen. : Unusual crankiness. Lack of oxygen affects the brain and moods, so if : you’re doing something the child usually likes and they’re unusually : cranky, s/he may be having trouble breathing. : Blue fingernails indicate a lack of oxygen. : Listlessness is a sign of oxygen deprivation. Ok, I’m not a child but I always have rings around my eyes, my fingernails and toenails turn blue when the temperature even drops a few degrees (winter is hell), and my breathing is shallow. If I breathe deeply for a bit, I become lightheaded and dizzy. Now I know this is connected to my chronic allergic rhinitis. I’m allergic to mite dust, pollen, certain types of grass, mozzie bites etc. I’ve been prescribed Rhinocort and Zyrtec (sp?). However, I’m not taking them very regularly at the moment because my allergy is more or less under control (if I ignore the running nose). I used to be on Sudafed for about 4-5 years before the ENT put me on Zyrtec. I’m also taking multivitamin-and-mineral supplements (Bettaway’s Woman’s Own formula) and this year I started with Starflower (Borage) oil as a GLA supplement. This year, on the advice of my ENT, I have basically cut out dairy products. (I do not say no to chocolate or icecream, but I don’t eat them everyday.) The effect on my tonsils was pretty incredible: they went down so much that I finally realised what normal was. For about a year or so what I’d thought was normal was really abnormal; I was just so used to it. I know my breathing is not good. My lung capacity is pretty bad. I know that I should be doing something to improve my breathing. Ballroom dancing has not proved as aerobic as I thought it would. I dislike sport so I lead a pretty sedentary life. So any advice for a "quick fix"? How can I improve my oxygen intake? How can I get rid of my black rings? How can I have warm hands and feet?????? (And no, despite the fact that I am basically vegetarian, I am *not* anaemic.) Thanks very much Simone Std disclaimer PS: I must say it’s nice to be back on Sudafed for a few days – I can breathe!!!!! My nose is not blocked. (I’m trying to unblock my Eustachian tubes.)

Response:

Question:

You should be careful of children coughing at this young age. This can be sign of asthma because of the lack of smooth muscle. So, if you change all of the things noted in these replies and the coughing continues, you may check for asthma. You can do this by checking the peak flow rates by using a peak flow meter from your pediatrican. This time of year is common for allergic asthma reactions. Bruce McLean (619) 940-6166

Response:

We have recently adopted a child with a known athsma problem. Fortunately, his asthma is not bad and we have only had a few dealings with it.  We have been doing tons of reading and question asking with our child’s doctor.  I would like to know from the parents of young kids with this problem what signs they look for?   Please cc: responses to my email address: timh…@ix.netcom.com Thanks!

Response:

In article <4nonea$…@dfw-ixnews4.ix.netcom.com> timh…@ix.netcom.com(Timothy A Hawn) writes: >  We have recently adopted a child with a known athsma problem. >  Fortunately, his asthma is not bad and we have only had a few dealings >  with it.  We have been doing tons of reading and question asking with >  our child’s doctor.  I would like to know from the parents of young >  kids with this problem what signs they look for?  

For young children with a tendency toward asthma, any virus could trigger asthma, so we watch much closer during viruses and are more likely to take the child in for breathing checks. We also watch for retractions – any sign of the skin pulling in around the ribs or at the base of the throat is a potential warning sign. Increased breathing rate is a sign. Now that our kids are older, they have a particular "hyper-talk" – a fast-paced breathless nonstop talking that immediately sends us to the peak flow meter, the nebulizer and/or to Urgent Care. We have dust-proofed their bedrooms, dust-proof covered their pillows mattresses, and found new homes for our pets, all to help reduce their tendency toward bronchospasm. We now know to watch for signs of sinusitis after upper respiratory viruses. The typical pattern is to get a cold, to have it for a few days, and then to develop a low-to-moderate fever. For our kids, this is an almost certain indication of a sinusitis, which is often followed by their more severe asthma episodes. The trick is to get them on antibiotics and increased inhaled meds before the asthma kicks in. Our oldest now uses a steroid nasal spray to prevent sinusitis; this and other measures have kept him off of prednisone and out of Urgent Care for several years. An ounce of anticipatory anxiety (and action) is worth a pound of prednisone! Good luck and good health, Mark — ————————————————————————- Mark Feblowitz,   GTE Laboratories Inc., 40 Sylvan Rd.  Waltham, MA 02254 mfeblow…@GTE.com, (617) 466-2947, fax: (617) 466-2618

Response:

Timothy A Hawn (timh…@ix.netcom.com) wrote: : We have recently adopted a child with a known athsma problem. : Fortunately, his asthma is not bad and we have only had a few dealings : with it.  We have been doing tons of reading and question asking with : our child’s doctor.  I would like to know from the parents of young : kids with this problem what signs they look for?   : Please cc: responses to my email address: timh…@ix.netcom.com : Thanks! There aren’t really too many prewarning signs.  Excess coughing and wheezing usually happen. Debbie

Response:

In article <4okact$…@newstand.syr.edu>, dasi…@mailbox.syr.edu wrote: > Timothy A Hawn (timh…@ix.netcom.com) wrote: > : We have recently adopted a child with a known athsma problem. > : Fortunately, his asthma is not bad and we have only had a few dealings > : with it.  We have been doing tons of reading and question asking with > : our child’s doctor.  I would like to know from the parents of young > : kids with this problem what signs they look for?   > : Please cc: responses to my email address: timh…@ix.netcom.com > : Thanks! > There aren’t really too many prewarning signs.  Excess coughing and > wheezing usually happen.

Our son’s asthma is usually precipitated by a cold or some respiratory virus.  Also, we know that certain times of the year are worse than others (spring/fall are worse than winter/summer).   I guess it all depends on the child and what sets off the asthma attacks.  When your child has an attach – think about what’s been going on… has the weather changed alot, does the child have another illness (eg, cold, flu), etc. Coughing and wheezing are definite signs.  Also, look at your childs chest when he/she breathes.  Is he/she laboring to get a breath?  For us, that’s a sure sign that our son is struggling to breath and may be having an asthma attack. This is all our experience, YMMV. > Debbie

GregB

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In article <4nonea$…@dfw-ixnews4.ix.netcom.com>, timh…@ix.netcom.com(Timothy A Hawn) writes:

:We have recently adopted a child with a known athsma problem. :Fortunately, his asthma is not bad and we have only had a few dealings :with it.  We have been doing tons of reading and question asking with ur child’s doctor.  I would like to know from the parents of young :kids with this problem what signs they look for?   : lease cc: responses to my email address: timh…@ix.netcom.com : :Thanks! Dark circles under the eyes indicate a lack of oxygen. Wheezing breathing but you can’t always hear this without a stethoscope. Obviously labored breathing. An early indication of this is when the soft spot at the base of the throat is sucked inwards for each breath. This is one of the best indicators for very young children. Unusual crankiness. Lack of oxygen affects the brain and moods, so if you’re doing something the child usually likes and they’re unusually cranky, s/he may be having trouble breathing. Blue fingernails indicate a lack of oxygen. Listlessness is a sign of oxygen deprivation. It’s difficult to monitor asthma in very young children. It helps if you teach the child to tell an adult when they’re having respiratory problems. — Merle Finch  me…@sas.com  SAS Institute Inc,         SAS Campus Dr, Cary NC USA 27513-2414. Opinions expressed probably never reflect those of SAS Institute Inc.

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In article <begay-3005961159180…@hpbegay.gr.hp.com>, be…@gr.hp.com – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -(Greg Begay) wrote: > In article <4okact$…@newstand.syr.edu>, dasi…@mailbox.syr.edu wrote: > > Timothy A Hawn (timh…@ix.netcom.com) wrote: > > : We have recently adopted a child with a known athsma problem. > > : Fortunately, his asthma is not bad and we have only had a few dealings > > : with it.  We have been doing tons of reading and question asking with > > : our child’s doctor.  I would like to know from the parents of young > > : kids with this problem what signs they look for?   > > : Please cc: responses to my email address: timh…@ix.netcom.com > > : Thanks! > > There aren’t really too many prewarning signs.  Excess coughing and > > wheezing usually happen.

My son who will be 4 in 20 days has asthma. He has had asthma since he was a baby but but wasn’t diagnosed until he was about 2. I always thought people we only effected by asthma in the spring and summer seasons. Well, I was wrong. I have two boys, 13 months apart. Like any siblings they usually get sick together. My older son, Joseph would have a mild cold and recover very quickly. And my younger son, Michael would start off with a mild cold, and then, boom he not breathing well. It scared the daylights out of me. I remember him sleeping in a stroller and me on the couch. Every 15 to 30 minutes he’d wake up breathing bad, so I would wheel him out side for 10 minutes until his breathing was better and he was asleep and wheel him back in the house. Very exhausting. As is stands now, when Michael has the slightest sign of a cold he is but on Albuterol Syrup, which works wonders. His cold still lasts longer than Joseph’s but at least he doesn’t have trouble breathing. And now  he is really starting to listen to his body and he will take rest breaks when outside playing. On the a good note they say that when you have asthma as a child you usually outgrow it. I hope this is true. Good luck. Jodie

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