Question:
My 16yr.old son has had asthma all his life. I have been taking him to
an allergy/asthma Dr. for a yr. approx. and his asthma is not under
controll. He tested him for allergies and has been giving him allergy
shots weekly with good results. The problem is that his asthma
exacerbates severely. He was hospitalized 9mos. ago, and had a recent
close call with hospitalization. He has him on Serevent inhaler 2xdaily,
Pulmicort inhaler2x daily,Accolate 1x daily, and Flonase.
This is my question. I want to see another Dr. Do you recommend another
allergy/asthma Dr. or a pulmonologist? I am really torn and need your
input.
My son has been needing his Allbuterol inhaler way too much.
Answer:
All these meds and still needs to use albuterol several times a day sounds
a little like my experience. The affectivity of an albuterol puff can be
greatly extended I found by breathing out slowly through the nose. The
slower the better and the longer you do it the less need you will have to
use it. Asthma is often associated with a pulmonary hydration deficit. A
susceptibility to EIA is evidence of this. Fortunately the air you breathe
out is ideal for rehydrating the airways. Slowing the expiration to say 4
times slower than inspiration, will mean that 80% of the time your airways
will be bathed in an ideal atmosphere. ie. fully hydrated, at blood
temperature and containing no atmospheric pollutants!
Note! There are hydrothermal machines appearing on the market to treat
asthmatics and chronic respiratory complaints via a nasal cannula. These
machines supply an almost identical ideal atmosphere. The makers claim
remarkable success, naturally, but I believe, John Hopkins Institute in
Maryland and others have trialed these machines and FDA approval has
been granted. However the silence from these institutions so far is
deafening! I think a few questions and patient pressure on practitioners
would be timely and might help improve knowlege of hydrothermal
benefits to asthmatics.
As a pediatrician who loves taking care of asthmatics, my first response is
your pediatrician. But if given a choice between Allergist/ Pulmonologist, I
would choose Pulmonologist. They can care for all aspects of asthma better I
feel. Itsounds like your son is on some very good medicines so the allergist is
doing a good job. All you can do at this point is up the doses or switch to
another medicine in the same class.
