When the boy’s cough didn’t get better after more than 2 weeks (Rhinathiol + Ventolin syrup + Polaramine syrup), which I wasn’t really regular in giving due to to MILLIONS of things I’ve had to rush for the past few weeks, we brought him in to see his paed.
I really wasn’t prepared for what she told me (mostly because I had the baby trying to crawl up and down my chest and the boy was talking and singing loudly as he’s banging away on something at the paed’s office):
- If we don’t stop the cough now, he’ll be wheezing in a couple of weeks;
- If he’s still coughing even after 4 weeks of using the inhaler, we need to take him to a doctor who will decide if he needs to continue it;
- If we don’t stop the cough, it may escalate into asthma.
She also prescribed:
- Prospan Cough Syrup (sugar-free, alcohol-free, colourant-free) – a triple action cough syrup that liquefies thick mucus, opens up constricted airways and calms coughing. Prospan® combats the typical complaints of bronchitis (increased formation of viscous mucus, shortness of breath and irritation of the throat). Troublesome and painful coughing is calmed, but not blocked, which is important for being able to cough up the mucus and thereby allow for trouble-free deep breathing.
- Bricanyl (Terbutaline Sulphate)0.3 mg (5 ml 3 times a day) – to treat
to treat bronchospasm (wheezing, shortness of breath) associated with lung diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, and emphysema.
- Piriton (Chlorpheniramine) 4 mg (5 ml 3 times a day) - to treat sneezing, itching, watery eyes, and runny nose
Then, she started to demonstrate to me the way to snap the inhaler onto the Aerochamber Plus Holding Chamber With Medium Mask 1/Ea
It was really weird because I wasn’t feeling anything (I was staring hard at her trying to remember all the numbers) but my eyes started to water and tears started to roll down my cheeks.
I couldn’t explain it at all but this must have been the biggest blow of all – since the day I knew I was expecting a boy, I did all I could (especially to try to breastfeed him for as long as a year) to prevent the onset of asthma, which runs on both sides of my family.
My father had asthma and would tell me about how terrible his childhood and boyhood days were whenever he had an asthma attack – he was an athletic and gregarious person.
The worst feeling in the world is wheezing (trying hard to breathe with a raspy sound coming through your mouth) – the awful images of my father wheezing just came to my mind when I heard the word.
And I just can’t imagine my little boy experiencing that especially as he’s such an ACTIVE boy:
- He does not walk. He bounces, jogs, skips or runs.
- He cannot sit still unless he has a good book in his hands, an engaging activity and of course, a good show on the TV.
- He does not lie still before he sleeps at night. He has to roll around, bug his little sister, bug me, rap his legs on the wall and God knows what else that drives his peace-loving Mom ups the wall before he knocks out for the night.
When the paed saw my tears, she stopped and told me no, no he’s not asthmatic yet. She knows my worst fears but she did say that his cough is probably due to a dust or pollen allergy.
- Construction works had just begun outside our apartment and everyone had been complaining about dust settling over the floor and furniture etc. I’m very sure it’s the fine dust that triggered his cough because his coughs started at around the same time,
- We’ve been living here for more than 5 years but Hubby and he recently started sneezing and coughing each time they are home,
- The other apartment faces a main road and an elevated highway: the fumes and the noise of buses, cars, motorbikes assault my senses EVERY minute of the day. I cannot leave the balcony door open because I’ll get dust and most likely, polluted air, which means we need to use the air-conditioner almost all the time. I hate the air-conditioner and prefer fresh air and a fan but the boy sweats like crazy – he needs to keep cool but the air-conditioner (not to mention the centuries-old dust trapped in it) makes him cough. I told Hubby I really *cannot survive* spending another day in this horrible place. We are looking for another place and we hope that we can get a place near the serene-looking lake we had before.
The boy was immediately fascinated by the aero-chamber and the paed praised him for catching onto the mechanics of attaching the inhaler so quickly – he is a math and mechanical whiz 
He’s been able to stay still while I wait for the first 10 counts and next 10 counts of breaths the first day I administered it.
The next day, he started doing his twitching and face making antics. Sigh.
I can’t help thinking that life is like a see-saw: when one end of your life goes up, the other end goes down. It really takes a lot of fine balancing to get both ends up.
Temperature: 34 deg C
Atmosphere: Noisy. Dusty. Polluted.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Aiyo.. cough due to allergy, same as my Jing. This is not the asthmatic med, not steroide type, just to made the airway more bigger.
Thinking of on the air-con 24hrs?
allisia – He’s given some steroids too
No, air-con 24 hours isn’t good.
I believed if it is treated early, it can prevent asthma. Always keep the chest warm at night for the child. You can use Vicks rub every nite. My kids had wheezing when they were young. Now they grew out of it, but taking docs instruction closely.
Now the nebulizer is collecting dust and I m glad. Hope he will have a speedy recovery.
How long dies he need to use the inhaler? Turn on those air purifier, it should help with the nose sensitivity a bit. Speedy recovery.
I’m sorry to hear – asthma is a bitch. I’ve been tackling it for 30 years and it’s only getting worse so much so that I’m taking a long drive down to Johor to see the recommended allergy specialist to see if it can be cured once and for all. If you’re keen, you could practise some asthma exercises with your boy – apparently it helps: http://www.yogajournal.com/health/127 – I’ve tried her getting rid of a blocked nose exercise and it really works
I have faith that I can completely eliminate asthma one day.
Hope he’d get well soon. I had a sensitive nose which cannot stand dust, pollen or fragrance. An air purifier should help clean up the dusty air. Fresh air is such a luxury these days. Take care!
Hugs to you and him. Hope he’s better now.
Michelle – Ya, I rub Vicks on the soles of his feet and put on socks too, which help a bit. I am keeping a close watch on his cough now. I stopped the cough medicines when it went away but then it came back! Have started them again – really hope it’ll go away for good!
Etceteramommy – He has to use the inhaler 2x a day once in the morning and once at night. We need a humidifier actually for the cold season that’s coming soon
Mamapumpkin – You poor dear! Hearing my father’s stories and seeing him wheezing, I can fully sympathize with you, which is why I’m quite affected by my boy’s condition. Have you tried swimming? That helped my father a lot.
A Mom’s Diary – Thanks…he got better so I stopped the Bricanyl 0.3 mg (Terbutaline Sulphate) and Piriton 4 mg (Chlorpheniramine) but then the phlegmy cough came back.
He’s back on them today and no cough. Looks like I’ve got to keep them on the same schedule as the inhaler…
I agree that the cough is triggered by dust…in other words, as long as the root cause is not treated, the cough will not subside. If moving to a new area is not feasible option now, how about going for a second doctor opinion? Ask around and see which paeds are recommended and give them a try. It’s worth the while to get a second opinion.
There’s this one child specialist we frequented who ALWAYS prescribe antibiotics (like prescribing water), even if it is just mild sore throat. I’ve read so so often that many child sicknesses are caused by virus, and rarely caused by bacteria, so the doctor should not have administered antibiotics. I asked around for doctor recommendations and went to a child doctor (who is not even a specialist). I never have to administer antibiotics to my children after I “switch” to this new paed.
By the way, have you tried Chinese medication? Chinese medication have amazing effect on flu and cough. Whereas western medication will only help to stave off the flu and cough for 3-4 hours, chinese medication cures the root problem. Just sharing because I know and have seen how good Chinese medication can be. **got too carried away,…my point is just go for a second opinion** I pray you’ll find the cure to boy-boy’s cough.
Is your paed Dr. Huang by any chance?
Darlene – What Chinese medication could I try? I dare not try because there are so many Dr. Quacks around. I’d be happy to hear more about something that’s tried and tested and only if it’s the same as what the boy’s experiencing. Hubby isn’t too keen either because TCM has a lot of fakes nowadays.
miloh – No, it’s not Dr. Huang although I’ve seen her a few times. Err…I find her kind of aggressive and expensive? I know a lot of parents like her though.