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Prednisone doesnt work for asthma attacks
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MedHelp Member's Question

Prednisone doesnt work for asthma attacks

by Raelynjewel, Jan 25, 2006 12:00AM
My son is 10 years old and has suffered from asthma and allergies since he was 2.  He has had 3 sinus surgeries and still have far too many asthma attacks.  For 2 months he has been having anywhere from 5 to 10 attacks a day,  has been on prednisone 3 times in six months which I understand is dangerous to other aspects of his health.  Are there any other options for him after prednisone is tried?  He is miserable!!  He also takes

singulair, flonase, zyrtec, flovent and albuterol nebs, inhaler and liquid.
Doctor's Answer

by National Jewish, Feb 03, 2006 12:00AM
This is obviously a problem for your son and a worry for you.  I would highly recommend that you see a pediatric pulmonologist or allergist to get a better understanding of why the asthma is not being controlled.  Also working on a regimen to control the asthma on a more regular basis.  At the present time, prednisone is the best medication to control an asthma attack.  However, the other medications in varying doses should be able to get better control than you are describing.



If this is a real problem for you locally, you may consider bringing your son to National Jewish Medical and Research Center for an evaluation and developing a treatment plan.  Speak with your son’s primary care physician if this is the case.
Member Comments (10)

by missdiagnosed, Jan 25, 2006 12:00AM
hi, im sorry to hear what ur boy is goin through, he is quite young. my question to you is....do you have an iguana in ur home? or some type of reptile?? im asking because i had same problems, on same meds...and didnt know what it was until they did a ct of my lungs, which founds hypersensativity pneumonitis. it turns out that i was highly allergic to my iguana. since i took her out of the home, i am off my meds and no more attacks. i hope they find the cause to your sons ailment so he can be med free. good luck!

by Raelynjewel, Jan 26, 2006 12:00AM
Thanks for your reply,  We have no pets though. I try to keep everything in my home allergen free (as much as possible anyway but I am sure there is something I am missing that is triggering these problems.  I am glad to know that though because his B-day is in 2 weeks and he is begging for a pet snake since he cant have dogs or cats.  Now I guess that is out of the question too, not going to take ANY chances.  Thanks again.

by Jane1, Jan 28, 2006 12:00AM
Sorry to hear your son is so fed up with the Asthma - I know how he feels and sometimes the constant medication can be a real nuisance.  He is on so many meds for such a young age - but normally asthma seems to burn out if you have it in childhood, I hope this is the case for him.  Having so many attacks would indicate to me that his medication isn't working to its best effects and I see no preventative medication on your list singulair is not a preventative medication and all the other drugs you listed are for sinus or for short term relief. his asthma is not under control for some reason it could be allergic reactions to carpets, dust mites, damp, dust, food allergies like milk , the medication itself anything! Seeing as he has had no pets how do you know he is allergic? I would reccommend a full work out with a respiratory specialist. Getting him involved in sports like swimming, when he is well enough, and getting an allergy test to put your mind at rest, you seem to be doing everything on that level, but sometimes eradictating all allergens means he can't build up his immune system to cope with everyday things that aren't a bother to children his age.  A study was carried out some years ago which showed country children didn't suffer asthma as much as their urban cousins, the results showed their immune system was boulstered by constant openess to hay, animal hair and other dusts that city kids seems to get wiped away by a sterile environment!



Regards

J

by Raelynjewel, Jan 30, 2006 12:00AM
Thanks for your reply.  Preston is very difficult to treat....even his doctors scratch their heads at him sometimes.  He takes pulmicort and flovent as preventers,  sorry I didnt mention those earlier. He also had had a complete workup including allergy tests twice,  I know he is allergic to cats because his grandmother has a cat and he cant even go over,  we had a dog for a little over a week and he was miserable the whole time.  The thing with Preston is he has so many other things going on  I am not even sure if I am dealing with asthma!

He has severe joint pain,  crazy rashes that even a dermatologist couldnt explain,  stomach problems.  We have tested him for everything under the sun with negative results.

His ENT doctor has suggested that we take him to Chapel Hill in NC for further testing because they just cant seem to treat his sinus infections even after 3 surgeries. Everything is just so confusing  sometimes I feel like I could have a degree in medicine I research so much.  Again thanks for your reply.



Monica

by CINDY4, Feb 03, 2006 12:00AM
Your son is a carbon copy of my daughter. She did the exact same thing starting when she was 3-4, with severe uncontrollable asthma. By 6 she had sinus surgery, adnoids out, and still no help. Constant asthma attacks just like you mentioned. It turned out she had a very rare disease called Churg-Strauss which is a hypereosinophilic syndrome.  Like the girl posted earlier about hypersensitivity pneumonitis, that is a similar condition, it is just confined to the lungs where as my daughter's disease is systemic and in 4 organs. Has he ever had a chest CT? If not I would ask for one ASAP. Many lung diseases do not show up on chest x-ray alone. Once she had the chest CT everyhting changed, she had severe lung disease. She had asthma but she also had an interstitial(outside airway) disease. Have you seen a rheumatologist or immunologist? Have you had any autoimmune work ups with his joint pain? The critera to be diagnosed with my daughter's disease is to meet 4 of these 6: asthma, sinusitis, pulmonary infiltrates(hazy areas on CT), eosinophila over 10% on blood count(eosinophilia is an increase of a white blood cell, eosinophils are what drive this disease), neuropathy (numbness and tingling in limbs), vasculitis (inflammation of the blood vessels). Most patients have bad joint pain, bad asthma, bad sinus, recurrent infections in lungs, fatigue, numbness of feet or hands, and a RASH