Comments on: Wheezing in infants and toddlers — what to do?

By: Christopher

Christopher — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 01:07:01 +0000

Hi Alicia:

It’s not appropriate for me to give specific medical advice over the internet (I hope you’ll understand), but I can say that the sort of thing your son is experiencing as not that rare. It’s common for children who have had RSV to have wheezing problems long after the RSV is gone, and to have a higher risk of developing asthma. Sometimes this continuing wheezing problem can be pretty severe. One thing I could suggest is that you might consider taking your child to see a pediatric pulmonologist — a lung expert — if you haven’t already. They’re expert in handling things like that.

The good news is that problems such as your son has tend to get better as they grow older. So statistics are on your side.

Good luck.

By: Alicia

Alicia — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:44:22 +0000

I was wondering about not only the effects of the medicine but what it means for my son as a thriving three year old. He had RSV when he was six months old and it was a struggle to get the doctors to confirm it.We have been taking breathing treatments off and on for almost his whole life. Now he had what they think was Bronchitis but he was had severe wheezing since October and it is January. The doctor has given him 4 rounds of anitbiotics and 3 rounds of steroids. It has gotten to the point that I feel horrible about giving him his breathing treatments and I am worried that he will have to have them for even longer. Is there anything that could be recommended that might be a different approach for us to take?

By: Christopher

Christopher — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 13:55:53 +0000

Generally speaking, albuterol is a very safe drug. We sometimes use it very high doses in severe asthmatic cases (much higher than your son received), so we have some experience with high levels of it. There are no aftereffects once the drug is stopped, so I wouldn’t worry at all about that for your son.

Regarding the wheezing your son had with a virus infection, that is very common. Although there is no way to be sure, most children grow out of that as they get older. The fact that there is no history of asthma in your family is no guarantee he will not have asthma later, but it does make it less likely.

By: NAVIN

NAVIN — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 12:48:07 +0000

my son is 2 years old – he has had 2 episodes of wheezing due to cough – doctor had first given him 2 ml per time /4 times a day to inhale ventalin through a nebuliser – he was very uncomfortable and we found that doctor has wrongly given him an overdose – so we consulted another doctor and they said yes surely its overdose as right dose shld be 0.25 ml – and doctor advisd us better to use the ventalin puff with a spacer and take 2 times a day as its only mild wheezing – we are worried about our son that by taking 4 days of overdose of inhaled ventalin -4 times each day – could it cause any major side effect to him – after his first episode of wheezing -after one week he had another episode due to viral cough – plz advice if it will cause any harm to him of taking overdose – also kindly let us know will he grow out of wheezing and what we should do to make his lungs stronger – in our family we dont have any history of asthama – plz help doctor – we are our worried about our 2 year old son

By: Christopher

Christopher — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 13:26:36 +0000

Hi Katie:

I can’t give you specific medical advice over the internet without seeing your child in person. However, I can say that you’re correct that ear tubes generally aren’t used to treat wheezing problems — they’re for ear problems, most commonly recurrent ear infections.

By: Katie

Katie — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 01:41:37 +0000

My 15 month old has been battling with wheezing, coughing, congestion and ear infections. We have been doing breathing treatments of albuteral and budesonide for 7 months along with antibiotics and steroids; in the last 3 months, he has been on antibiotics 4 times. He seems to get a little better when he’s on antibiotics, but never completely better- he still wheezes when he is really active. The doctor recommended ear tubes, but my concern is that tubes will not solve our problem. What do you recommend for chronic wheezing/coughing? If that and the congestion are under control, would we even need the tubes?

By: Christopher

Christopher — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 13:53:33 +0000

At that dose, and for inhaled steroids like Flovent, usually we just stop the medication. But I’d do as your doctor suggests because I can’t really give specific medical advice over the Internet.

By: Anna

Anna — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 20:31:46 +0000

Dear Dr.Johnson, thank you very much for your reply! My son is doing well for a month and a half now. The doctor said we should use Flovent 125 mg once a day till the end of February. We are supposed to see our doctor in March. I would like to ask you what would be the right way to wean my son off this dose of Flovent? Should we switch to a smaller dose or just stop it (we are using it once a day)?

By: Just what is wheezing, anyway? | Christopher Johnson M.D. PICU Author

Just what is wheezing, anyway? | Christopher Johnson M.D. PICU Author — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 03:20:28 +0000

[...] is one of the most common search terms that bring people here. It’s a common problem, and I’ve written some about it before. The fact that so many people are searching for information about it tells me that doctors may not [...]

By: Christopher

Christopher — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 01:58:08 +0000

Hi Anna:

Inhaled steroids like Flovent have been extensively studied in children and, although no medicine is totally without risk, they are extremely safe, even for prolonged periods of time. In your son’s situation, doctors often recommend using them through the winter cold season. If he is doing well in the spring, you could discuss with your doctor stopping them to see how he does