Pulmicort - Prevent pneumonia? Possible asthma?

  • Thread starter Thread starter ashleylala
  • Start date Start date
A

ashleylala

Guest
My daughter was hopsitalized with RSV and pneumonia in February '10 and Deceraber '10. She is 20 months old.

Her pediatrician is putting her on pulmicort .25mg twice a day for the remainder of this winter. She thinks she could have asthma, but is too young to cooperate with the breathing test to diagnose it.

I've never noticed her have an asthma attack - just the rapid/labor breathing both times she's been hospitalized. We assumed it was the rsv/pneumonia causing it.

Does it sound like she has asthma? Can the pulmicort help prevent future pneumonia?
 
my son is 5 years old. He had his first hospital at 18 months then the second and 3 in the following months. He was diagnosed when he was about 2 after he was refered to a pulmanologist. she said it is really diagnosed on symptoms, not necessarily a specific test. He was started on pulmacort after i think his second hospital stay. Which the admitting diagnosis by ER doctor said pneumonia, but when the pulmanologist looked at them, she referred to it as atelectasis. It's where the tiny sacs in the lungs stick together and have a hard time expanding to hold the air they need. explaining the heavy breathing and low oxygen levels. He took pulmacort for about 6 months and ended up having another hospital stay and several "almosts". Our dr. said pulmacort was just not strong enough for him. So he was started on Syrabicort with an areocharaber. It is kinda scary because its use in children is so new. But he went from 3 hospital stays in his first 2.5 years to none in the next 2 years. Then when we tried to wean him down to the lowest does once a day, we ended up with 2 hopital says in 3 months. So he is now back on the highest does. He will remain on it throught the winter. and we may start trying to wean him again.
hopefully your daughter will respond to the pulmacort and not have to be on a stronger medicine. Best of luck to you and your baby girl.
 
oh, and Brayden didn't have his first asthma attack until he was much older. The dr. said that you don't have to have attacks to have asthma. That the goal is to try to have no asthma attacks, that way you know it is well treated and under control.
 
one more, lol
our dr. explained that pulmacort is an inhaled steroid, when breathed in, it coats the lungs and keeps them strong. That way they, colRAB and sicknesses are less likely to affect the lungs. so the answer to that question is yes, it can prevent pneumonia.
 
I don't really have attacks either. When it first started, the most obvious problem was that I was trying to walk down a street and panting and PANTING like I was sprinting down the street. When it got a little worse, I was panting and coughing while sitting down.

At her age, it might go away, it often does. But inflammation feeRAB on itself, so the Pulmicort will keep down the inflammation in her lungs, which will prevent her from having breathing problems now, and hopefully help her lungs get stronger as she grows.

There is good evidence that inhaled corticosteroiRAB improve the long-term health of children with breathing problems. Serious side effects are very rare.
 
Back
Top