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I’ve written about this several times, my daughter having asthma. For two months now my small little family has struggled with this diagnosis. She’s so little, only 16 months, and it just has never seemed right to give her so much medicine, steroids, Zyrtec, Singulair, and albuterol. Is it all really necessary? The doctor said we had to get her asthma under control because she was wheezing so frequently and having asthma attacks. She really has been miserable. The inflammation had to decrease and that was why she needed steroids. The Aluterol was for an asthma attack, it opens up the airways. The Zyrtec and Singular were to help control allergies, except we didn’t know what she was allergic to but the medicines worked differently so she needed both of them. I didn’t like that the Singulair had aspartame in it and all of the information given to me was sponsored by the pharmaceutical companies. Something just wasn’t right and I wasn’t getting any answers when I asked, I had no choice because she had to get better. Her lungs could permanently be damaged if we didn’t get her better. I felt like I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Buy organic milk but crush up Singular with aspartame and feed it to her.
What was I supposed to do? Luckily, my daughter resisted both of the oral medicines but happily took the other treatments via the nebulizer, they made her breath easier. I insisted on allergy testing so we could figure out what her allergies were before we gave her anymore medicine.What if we could control her environmental allergens without medicine?There were many tips and pointers from websites and friends to stop using milk, avoid wheat, and use natural remedies such as alfalfa. I tried some of these tips with no luck. I didn’t use alfalfa because I was afraid she was allergic to grass because of her outdoor wheezing.The entire situation has been frustrating.
Except now I know. Everyone told me she was too young for allergy testing but I had to know. It was rough to spend two hours in a small office but the pokes on her back were quick and it was over. The allergist was amazing and said she was so young we were going to do just a few tests to see if she had a genetic component. She does, she’s +3 to dust mites. So now I know. I have purchased a dust mite protector made from organic cotton to zip her mattress up in. We are looking at removing her carpet and have steamed cleaned it for now to kill any dust mites. I wash her bedding every two or three days in hot water to kill anything. Knowing is a relief but it also tells me there’s more in store for us and allergies. The allergist said she was so young that she might have more allergies as time goes and we can treat her from there.
How does this link to asthma? She still has asthma and her allergy can trigger an attack but so can a virus, chemicals, and even changes in the weather. She has non-allergic and allergic triggered asthma. There are several ways we can use environmentally friendly products to help those with asthma breath easier. Our treatment is easier because we can use a mask and an inhaler. Two puffs when she starts wheezing verses a 10 minutes nebulizer treatment. Plus the inhaler is CFC free so it’s a little green! I don’t have to give her medicine to treat an allergy she doesn’t have and that is a huge relief. She feels better and so do I. It’s nice to have her breathing easier at night and not waking up with an attack. Please take some time to visit the resource page for some helpful links pertaining to asthma and allergies.
Have you considered chiropractic? I only say this because i used to work for a “Corrective Care Chiro” for several years. Saw lots of lil one’s and big one’s with asthma. I’ll give you a link to theCBP (Chiropractic Bio Physics) website where you can learn about it and also search for a doctor who uses that technique. If you don’t come up with any luck on that site for your area if you’d like i’ll try to locate one via the chiropractic fellowship we were a part of.
Just to give you the short version on chiro. There are as many techniques as there are cars to buy. So not all chiro’s practice the same methods. An not even 30% of the methods used are corrective. But the average Joe doesn’t know this secret.
Fear: Will he break my kids neck?? No, not at all and they also have a device called an activator they can use on kids. It’s a hand held “thumper” that replaces the motion you would make with your hand by squeezing down on the device. It’s small. Usually the munchkins are totally intrigued by it and want to play with it. Harmless. We used to adjust babies that were a day old due to the complicated/ traumatic birth process. Babies are really doing 90% of the work because they wiggle. Asthma is common in babies born via C-section or with vacuum or excessive “help” coming out of the vaginal canal from the doctor. Also, children are very receptive to chiropractic because their little spines haven’t learned out bad habits yet. If your daughter has any irregularity in her bowel movement or constipation chiropractic is a wonderful cure all. My sister’s 6 month old saw the chiro at 2 months for constipation. Worked after only a few hours and Heidi was thrilled to say the least. Their website is very informative and if you have any questions please feel free to ask me i’ll be more than happy to share whatever i can to help.
http://www.idealspine.com/pages/cbp_technique.htm
Hope she gets better soon!
Swallowing A Moose (aka The Green Wifey)s last blog post..Weekend Fun!
My sister had bad asthma when she was younger, and on the ‘breathing machine’ (as we called it). I think she had to do it every night, maybe even every morning. She was allergic to most dairy, all dander filled pets, pollen, and more. She’s actually grown out of most things, just can’t handle dogs, and only needs her inhaler on rare occasions. I’m sure your little one will work it out! She looks like a trooper.
I am so sorry your baby has asthma. I have asthma and it’s terrible. My main trigger is smoke. It was nice to read something that gave some tips about keeping it under control without all the meds. I’m glad she is feeling better!
Interesting to learn that Singulair has Aspertame in it. I can only imagine the reasons for that…. My daughter has been on the nebulizer (and steroids) a few times for pneumonia, so we’re worried that asthma will crop up in her, too. Fingers crossed, so far, so good! We have learned that she’s allergic to mosquitoes though, and I have *no* idea what to do about that (living in Mosquito-central as we do). Good luck getting it all under control! It’s never easy when you can’t figure out the exact right thing to do for your kids, is it?
Michelles last blog post..And They’re Off!
That’s hard – and so young, too. I can only imagine the frustration . . .
My son has what his Ped. calls “early asthma”. He needs his inhaler only 1-2 times a day. His asthma is directly linked to his allergies as well. One of the biggest things we did for him was to take him completely off all dairy products. Dairy is an asthma sufferer’s enemy. He now drinks rice milk and eats goats milk dairy products like cheese and yogurt. Although he’s not a total yogurt fan. If there is anything that could help your baby more, it’s to take her off cow’s milk. Goat’s milk is the best alternative for young children. It’s the closest thing to breast milk out there and it’s delicious. My kids can’t tell the difference when I made the switch! I also have a daughter who is allergic to milk protein like myself. Give it a try! You might see some positive results after a couple weeks! My son now only needs his inhaler for occasional attacks and once at bedtime during allergy season. His skin rashes cleared up as well.
Good luck!
Beths last blog post..Tennis
I am so sorry to hear about your daughter’s asthma. It is so great that you found out it is triggered by an allergy. Knowing is so important! I love your site and try to read it everyday for tips.
I do have a question. in this post you mentioned that you steam cleaned your carpets. I really want to do this but want to do it without chemicals. Did you buy your own steam cleaner…if so, which one and is it good? Thanks!
Kates last blog post..Slow Food
Hi, this is a little delayed but I was just looking around your older posts and came across this. I have twin boys that are 2 1/2 years old and one of them was diagnosed with asthma last year. I know how it feels to hold that mouthpiece up that blows the nasty toxins that are supposed to help, but sometimes don’t. I would find that the steroids and albuterol would only help SOME of the time. So I looked up homeopathic healing and there are things you can do to stop her wheezing, and is especially good with asthma attacks. Honey. by the teaspoon, in her milk, water, juice, it opens up the airways and breaks down any mucus. So, just a little research can go a long way, there are also many many essential oil blends that will help. Hope this helps you.
Most researchers believe that the different patterns of asthma are all related to one condition. But some researchers feel that separate forms of lung conditions exist. There is currently no cure for asthma and no single exact cause has been identified.acnee
Please give me more information. I love it, Thanks again.