Albuterol question!

[abunchoflemons]

Depends on things but maybe need steriod. There are stronger meds than albuterol. Sometimes use albuterol with other treatments.....

[ktmelody]

Originally Posted by galesville1980 It is cause we did not have a neb on hand...so we called the spec over the weekend and he told us to do it this way. We went to er last night at midnight and er dr said we r doing everything right and that there was nothing more he could do.

I would look into paradoxic bronchospasm, it is a side effect of albuterol and can be quite severe. We're her o2 levels normal? Did they do any blood gasses?

[galesville1980]

Originally Posted by abunchoflemons Depends on things but maybe need steriod. There are stronger meds than albuterol. Sometimes use albuterol with other treatments.....

She is on alvesco that is a stariod and a liquid stariod

[SamanthaLove88]

Originally Posted by sojomisa Do you use the inhaler attached to a spacer? We've found her nebulizer to be quicker at stopping the coughing and heavy wheezing. The inhaler/spacer works best for use when used at the onset of wheezing or mild/moderate wheezing. But her cough is in conjunction with her wheezing. Your dd may need something different for the cough like claritan which can relieve nasal drip that can cause coughing. Or Nasonex. Or a different maintenance med like pulmicort.

This^ and the inhaler never did much for us. Nebulizer works wonders.! Notw my older ones are currently using it due to upper respiratory infection. We went to walk in and her breathing improved 100% after the neb. treatment they gave her there. If needed you can do every 4 hours.

[corinne76]

Does she have allergies? Does she wake up sniffling at all?
DD would cough and cough for months at a time. She would also wake up with the sniffles ea morning. I put one of those allergy reducing covers on her pillow, it made a world of difference. We even tried claritin but dr said her nasal passages were dry ea time i took her in. She does have asthma and gets the neb when her coughing acts up. Pulmacort at night, albuterol in the day. Right now its colder and shes prone to coughing episodes around thus time of year so we do pulmacort ea night as a precautionary.

[BellaPepper]

I an asthmatic and have learned a lot lately due to a recent bad spell of it that lasted 6 months. Here's some bullet points:

Nebulizer treatment are more effective then a rescue. Use your neb over rescue whenever possible

Asthma can be triggered by allergies. Give claritan a try, it has helped my asthma symptoms significantly, I take it every day.

You can take Benadryl even when taking claritan daily.

You can give Benadryl a try if she isn't responding to the neb. The coughing may be from excess mucus vs. bronchial construction.

You can purchase your own pulse ox at the pharmacy.

If you have tried all of these and she is still struggling do not be afraid to take her to the ER. Breathing is number 1 in CPR and is always taken seriously.

I am not a doctor, this is all info given to me by my doctor and pharmacist.

[sojomisa]

What is her diagnosis? Does she wheeze with the coughing? I would try to get your hands on a nebulizer they are fairly inexpensive all things considered at around $50. Your insurance may even reimburse you. I saw them at both CVS and Walmart on my last trip. Although I'm surprised your doctors office didn't set you up with one. Mom and pop neighborhood pharmacy's would definitely have them too. The nebulizer distributes the med more effectively, imo. How where you told to use the spacer? Is could be possible that she's not drawing the med in correctly.

If she is just coughing I would try an allergy med like Claritin to see if it would help. Nasonex works well too but it's prescription only.

[BellaPepper]

Originally Posted by ktmelody I have never heard of that. I have had asthma for my whole life, my son has severe asthma and 6-8 puffs isn't recommended from a puffer from any doctor or dosage website I have ever seen. There are serious risks to albuterol in puffer form, like heart racing and even severe coughing when given too much. Personally I would go to the doc ASAP or the ER with her meds and explain your situation.

It's not the recommended dose,but for a healthy patient it doesn't pose any real risk. It will make you feel horrible though. My doctor told me not to ever hesitate to take more if the first dose doesn't work after 10 mins.

[luvsviola]

We do nebulizer treatments. Our pulminologist said if you need to do them more than once an hour to call, and no more than 5 in a 24 hour period, and if you need that much, you need to call the after hours doc.

[galesville1980]

Originally Posted by corinne76 Does she have allergies? Does she wake up sniffling at all? DD would cough and cough for months at a time. She would also wake up with the sniffles ea morning. I put one of those allergy reducing covers on her pillow, it made a world of difference. We even tried claritin but dr said her nasal passages were dry ea time i took her in. She does have asthma and gets the neb when her coughing acts up. Pulmacort at night, albuterol in the day. Right now its colder and shes prone to coughing episodes around thus time of year so we do pulmacort ea night as a precautionary.

She was tested for allergies (not tested for food allergies though)...all came back neg....and no she does not wake up stuffy..only coughs like crazy when she gets a cold.