Question:
My 6 yr. old son was recently diagnosed with asthma. He has been in the
hospital and is still out of control with his asthma. He is on Benadryl,
Xopenex, Albuteral, Zyrtec, Intal, Flonase, Singular, and has been on large
doses of Prednisone. I am very concerned about him. Most of his asthma
attacks seem to be induced by foods and pollens. Anyone else have similar
problems?
Answer:
Usually a severe asthmatic would be using a high strength
steroid inhaler, like Pulmicort or Flovent; you only mention
prednisone, which can be used for burst doses for 3-10 days
til the exacerbation is over. Is he under the care of an asthma specialist?
in this case a pediatric allergist would be appropriate.
He can test for what he is allergic to, so you know what to
avoid. Some cases of difficult to control asthma are caused by either
sinusitis or GE reflux. It sounds like he has rhinitis or
sinusitis, with the antihistamines he's taking (Benadryl
and Zyrtec) Note that Singulair only helps about 2/3 who try it.
The main long acting preventor for asthma is steroid
inhalers (Pulmicort, Flovent, Vanceril DS) Here's a link to the Virtual Children's Hospital with pediatric
asthma treatment guidelines. http://www.vh.org/Providers/ClinGuide/Asthma/Asthma.html
Asthma Management:
Guidelines for the Primary Care Physician (Virtual Childrens
Hospital) c95, 97 (Uiowa)
