Thread: hygiene hypothesis

Originally Posted by ClairesMommy

The number one lesson I've learned since all these things started happening with Ben is to fight like hell, don't let yourself get pushed around by doctors, and never ever doubt yourself. As soon as I grew a backbone and knew I wasn't crazy I started getting answers about what was wrong with my son.

myyams, what is your name?

I know there definitely have been times I wished I had the pulse-ox meter at home, but I wonder if it would drive me mental? Would I be plugging him in every time he got a cough or sounded rattly in his chest? It definitely would give peace of mind though. I remember being so scared to take him home after the RSV in January. I could see his oxygen numbers on the monitor and I was afraid that he'd start crashing again but that I wouldn't know because he wasn't being monitored at home.

I am going to send you a pm so I don't bombard this board with all of this off stuff.

Both of my girls have asthma and there is a history on my husband's side of the family. My youngest had respiratory symptoms since birth. She was born with laryngomalacia and things went downhill from there. I was told by the Pulmonologist that kiddos that have respiratory problems early on tend to outgrow those issues as their airways grow. I expected that to be the case with Madison so we'll see. She's only 5.

Alana didn't have any respiratory problems when she was little. Rarely even had a sniffle. Then we made the unfortunate decision to move into an older home that we didn't know was infested with mold. We lived there for 6 months before realizing this. During that time Alana started developing allergies and was eventually diagnosed with asthma. I truly believe the mold exposure triggered something in her body and now she's left with a chronic condition that she isn't expected to "grow out of."

I think each case is different. I think asthma is overdiagnosed by doctors that aren't experts and I think parents tend to assume their child has asthma just because they were prescribed an inhaler. Asthma should only be diagnosed through PFTs and a thorough medical history.

Oh, and I just wanted to mention that we have a peak flow meter for my girls. It really helps to tell the difference between a flare-up and a common cold and it gives us an idea of how well the medication is working.

Originally Posted by ClairesMommy

Asthma is, or at least can start out as, a very vague, dismissible, puzzling collection of symptoms. I don't know why Ben got asthma. Maybe it had something to do with the fluid trapped in his lungs for the first week - under the oxy hood and then the isolete. IDK. Maybe it had something to do with immunity he got from me while bfing. As soon as he was weaned at a year all his problems started. For him the trigger is respiratory viruses. He could never just have a cough - it always turned into pneumonia or bronchitis or tonsillitis and his oxygen levels would drop with wheezing and really intense in-drawing. The most recent thing was RSV last January which triggered his airways to slam shut. Oxygen levels in the 70s is very very bad and he was in the hospital for 4 days. So, at least for our family, flu shots and vaccines are important, especially the ones that prevent respiratory issues. I wish there was a vaccine for RSV.

Tristan was the same way. He doesn't seem to have any other triggers like exercise or cold air, but every cold would turn into a huge illness with serious respiratory distress. He had to be hospitalized for multiple days twice in the same month once before he was two. Scary stuff. However, we have had him on Singulair and Pulmicort for two years now (we actually just decreased the dosage of Pulmicort this summer) and he has done much much better. He still gets wheezy sometimes when he gets sick, but he doesn't get sick as often and when he does it is nothing like before. How old is Ben? Is he on anything? (If that's too personal, disregard. )

ETA: We're huge on flu shots and vaccines in my house too. My DH has asthma too which is irritated by illness, and also dust and strong chemicals and scents, so I also only use unscented laundry detergent, don't burn candles, don't wear perfume, et cetera.

Originally Posted by Alissa_Sal

Tristan was the same way. He doesn't seem to have any other triggers like exercise or cold air, but every cold would turn into a huge illness with serious respiratory distress. He had to be hospitalized for multiple days twice in the same month once before he was two. Scary stuff. However, we have had him on Singulair and Pulmicort for two years now (we actually just decreased the dosage of Pulmicort this summer) and he has done much much better. He still gets wheezy sometimes when he gets sick, but he doesn't get sick as often and when he does it is nothing like before. How old is Ben? Is he on anything? (If that's too personal, disregard. )

ETA: We're huge on flu shots and vaccines in my house too. My DH has asthma too which is irritated by illness, and also dust and strong chemicals and scents, so I also only use unscented laundry detergent, don't burn candles, don't wear perfume, et cetera.

Ben is 3 1/2. He's on Alvesco daily and of course ventolin if needed. He used to take FloVent, but it didn't help much. Once he was switched to Alvesco in the hospital it's made a huge difference. Yes, it's so scary to watch your child struggle to breathe. I'm sorry you had to go through it with Tristan Ben's pedi thinks that he could grow out of it by age 8 - 10, as his grows and his airways get bigger. IDK. I've read some new research to the contrary - that kids with asthma at a young age are in fact unlikely to grow out of it.

Originally Posted by ClairesMommy

Ben is 3 1/2. He's on Alvesco daily and of course ventolin if needed. He used to take FloVent, but it didn't help much. Once he was switched to Alvesco in the hospital it's made a huge difference. Yes, it's so scary to watch your child struggle to breathe. I'm sorry you had to go through it with Tristan Ben's pedi thinks that he could grow out of it by age 8 - 10, as his grows and his airways get bigger. IDK. I've read some new research to the contrary - that kids with asthma at a young age are in fact unlikely to grow out of it.

I'm sorry you've had to go through it with Ben too. Soooo sooo scary. T had a cold earlier this week (he seems to be feeling better now) and I went to check on him at like 4 am because he was coughing and I could hear him wheezing, and I just laid there forever trying to decide if I should wake him up and make him do a neubilizer treatment or not. The bad thing about that is that they are like a shot of adrenalin, so good luck trying to get him to go back to sleep afterwards, but then you also don't want to let him go into a real attack...it's rough. Anyway, I'm glad that you have found a treatment plan that seems to be helping with Ben. I am still hopeful that T will outgrow his, but realistically know that he may not. Both my husband (T's dad) and DH's sister have had asthma since they were kids and still have it as adults, so....

Originally Posted by Alissa_Sal

I'm sorry you've had to go through it with Ben too. Soooo sooo scary. T had a cold earlier this week (he seems to be feeling better now) and I went to check on him at like 4 am because he was coughing and I could hear him wheezing, and I just laid there forever trying to decide if I should wake him up and make him do a neubilizer treatment or not. The bad thing about that is that they are like a shot of adrenalin, so good luck trying to get him to go back to sleep afterwards, but then you also don't want to let him go into a real attack...it's rough. Anyway, I'm glad that you have found a treatment plan that seems to be helping with Ben. I am still hopeful that T will outgrow his, but realistically know that he may not. Both my husband (T's dad) and DH's sister have had asthma since they were kids and still have it as adults, so....

I remember the shots of ventolin that day like it was yesterday - he must've had over 100 shots. I remember his heart rate going over 200, and how violently he was shaking. Still makes me upset.