argh sick kid AGAIN

[TigerLily]

Every time the 2 1/2 year old gets a cold it gets in her chest and becomes a terrible respiratory illness. It is so hard to watch and gives me anxiety every time she gets a runny nose. The baby can get the same virus and be over within 2 days. A on the other hand, will be getting breathing treatments every 3 hours and is still has extremely rapid breathing, pulling, wheezing etc... We will be up all night tonight I'm sure. I'm so tired. This happens almost every month.
Last time they gave her prednisone and it helped, but made her into a monster for a week. I'm thinking we're going to have to do that again. Anyone else have this experience? or any advice? I'm losing it here.

[peggyfromwastate]

Just hugs. BTDT with our ds. He did outgrow the problems by about age 5, and rarely even needs an inhaler now. We put him on maintenance pulmicort thru the neb at about 12 months onward until about 2.5 when he started to take Flovent with a spacer. The maintenance meds worked well for him. But I remember him catching everything and always having to neb. It sucks. He is RARELY sick now-- as in maybe 1 cold a year.

[GreyhoundsRUs]

We just went through this for the first time with DD (13 month old). She has had wheezing with colds before but this was the first time it got bad enough to do the breathing treatments and inhalers. Almost 3 weeks into this one and her wheezing has gone but she's still coughing.

[Mrs. MD, Esq.]

Hope she feels better quickly (for both your sakes)!

[TigerLily]

I talked to DH about some of those maintenance drugs you mentioned. I would try anything at this point. Not only is it SO hard to watch her suffer like this, but it's exhausting for our entire family/ I wish it was acceptable and fun to keep her inside constantly and never let her play with another kid.

[Vishenka69]

That was me until the age of 8. I had a pneumonia or bronchitis every single winter. I still remember being a guinea pig for every treatment known to men (traditional medicine, holistic, old folk tales, etc.). It was torture for my parents but at some point I just grew out of it.

[fluffhead]

We had this with DD2 (age 4 as of tomorrow!) - she needed the neb treatments each time she got a cold, and oral steroids sometimes too, and it was getting dangerous. We put her on daily inhaled steroids, first three puffs, then two, and down to one puff AM and PM, skipping when things seemed especially fine. She's been great - we haven't done any albuterol at all since starting the inhaled steroids.

[Finding Equanimity]

Sorry, no advice. I only have hugs. Hugs!!

[TigerLily]

I made an appointment with her ped for Wednesday. I wish doctors were magic...I just hope she has some ideas that might help!