Friday, January 06, 2006

For Aisha

Thanks so much for your comment! I'm so sorry your little girl's having such a hard time with her asthma. Sounds like you're doing a great job...and since I'm not a doctor or anything close to a medical professional, there's not much I can recommend.

But here's what I would suggest: Get a referral to either an Asthma/Allergy specialist or a Pediatric Pulmonologist, if you're not already seeing one.

Since your daughter's asthma clearly isn't under control yet, there are a few different things your doctor might recommend. Possibly, you could increase her Flovent dosage. Or, you could add another medication -- we've got both Singulair and Nasonex in addition to Flovent on my oldest's action plan. It may be something as simple as adding an over-the-counter antihistamine to your daughter's nighttime routine. We find that helps a lot, but I don't know if it's even an option for someone as young as your little girl.

But see a specialist if you haven't yet. Hopefully, there's one near you and on your insurance plan. There's a huge difference between a pediatrician and a pediatric asthma specialist. For us, it made an enormous, life-saving difference.

Some other resources: http://aanma.org - Everything from discount nebulizers to news. But Nurse Christy, an asthma educator you can speak to for free, is by far their best offering.

I also HIGHLY recommend the joining the Asthma Parents discussion list at http://asthmatrack.org/list.html. You'll learn more than you ever thought possible from these wonderful, supportive moms!

No comments: