Hello :-). My son has asthma which manifests itself in a cough and often shows up during/after colds (he doesn't appear to have any problems with breathing in enough air... no emergencies, thank goodness). He takes Singulair every night, Albuterol as needed and Benadryl as needed (all as suggested by his doctor). He recently had a cold and his asthma flared up. We gave him albuterol via his nebulizer 3 times daily for around 6 days (his ped said 4-7 days). Since the cough wouldn't go away (usually occuring after running around and at night, although sometimes just "on its own") I took him back to his doctor and she said it was indeed his asthma and gave us a Pulmicort Flexhaler, 180mcg. She told me (and put it on his asthma plan) to have him use the Pulmicort Flexhaler twice, two times a day and to try it for a month Since then, I've read online that the Flexhaler should be given to children who are 4 with extreme caution and I've read that 180 mcg is the typically recommended dose to start off with.
After using the pulmicort for less than a day, my son's coughing has decreased to the point where it is almost gone and we're all very happy about that :-). While I am VERY happy about his fantastic improvement, because I want him to be well and I want to protect his sweet little lungs, I am wondering if the dose that I am giving him is too much and is in the wrong form (flexhaler instead of the nebulizer type) based upon what I've read online. Do you have any thoughts about using a Pulmicort Flexhaler with a 4 1/2 year old and at the maximum dosing level?
Thank you so much for your help!