July Case Study
My six year old son has asthma and allergic rhinitis and has been very well controlled for the past 2 years and I have managed to reduce his medications to half what he was on. However he got sick about 3 weeks ago and even though I have doubled his medications back to what he was originally prescribed he is still not better.
I rang the Asthma Helpline and explained the situation. The Nurse asked me what symptoms he was experiencing. I explained to her that when he gets bad he coughs a lot and gets very short of breath. She then asked me was he waking up at night with the coughing and how often was he using his blue reliever and how long did the effect last. She said that it appeared that my son’s asthma was out of control.
Case Study
I told her how Mark never had an actual attack but that when his asthma went out of control he becomes worn out and generally unwell, he can’t lie flat and his sleep is very interrupted, he has no appetite and becomes quite aggressive. The Asthma Nurse said what I was describing was an acute exacerbation of Asthma and said that I should bring my son to my GP as soon as possible and address a number of issues such as:
- That Mark is currently unwell and has been for 3 weeks
- That I have been changing his medications (increasing and decreasing the doses depending on how well Mark has been) without a formal asthma management plan
- That nasal treatment needs to be addressed either with a nasal spray or a tablet specific for rhinitis
- That he needs to have his inhaler technique checked
I used to use a peak flow meter and diary with Mark and the Asthma Nurse suggested that I go back to using the peak flow meter again as this will take the guesswork out of knowing how well my son is. She said she would send me a new diary. She also suggested that I replace the chamber device as my previous one was 2 years old and explained how this would not only improves the efficiency of the medication but reduces the side effects in the mouth. I had noticed that Mark has had dreadful thrush in his mouth since stopping using the chamber.
She stressed the importance of complying with medication and recognising the symptoms of worsening asthma and when to get help.
She also said that it is recommended a child with asthma when well controlled should have a routine asthma review every 6 months and Mark has not been seen by a Doctor in 2 years. The Asthma Nurse advised me to make an appointment with my GP to review Mark’s asthma and that at this next visit I should ask about a personalised asthma plan for Mark, a review of medication both for his chest and nose and a further appointment to have him assessed again to see how well this plan is working.
I felt a lot better having spoken to the Asthma Nurse and realising that although I have been managing my son’s asthma quite well for a number of years, there are more formal ways of doing this and I have made an appointment to visit my GP with the intention of putting this in place.
To speak to our Asthma Nurse call 1850 44 54 64, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10am – 1pm.
*Name of Helpline caller has been changed to protect the Helpline caller's privacy. Photo featured is of an actor.
