
Suggest Treatment For Cold And Breathing Trouble In An Infant

Posted on
Thu, 16 Mar 2017
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team


Question : My son is 17 months old now. He had severe cold and experienced breathing problems in Nov 2016 and March 2017. We are in the United states. We took him to emergency on both the occasions. He was given albuterol inhaler for temporary use and we were told that this was a reactive airway and could be starting stage of asthma. We had him tested for all allergies and found that he is not allergic to any substance. We are confused as to what could be the reason for his breathing issues accompanied by cold on both the occasions. Please let us know possible reasons and what we can do to make sure the incidents don't recur.
Brief Answer:
Need more information - please revert back with answers
Detailed Answer:
Hi...Thank you for consulting in Health Care magic. Greetings from XXXXXXX
By what you quote I feel what your kid could be having viral associated wheeze or multi triggered wheeze. I have a few questions for you -
Questions:
1. How many days per month does he cough or feel breathless?
2. How many nights per month does his sleep get disturbed due to above symptoms?
3. Does he feel breathless when he runs around or plays with other kids?
4. Are the symptoms when there are seasonal changes?
5. Is there any family history of asthma or any other sort of allergies like skin allergy etc.?
6. Is the cough always associated with fever?
Regards - Dr. Sumanth
Need more information - please revert back with answers
Detailed Answer:
Hi...Thank you for consulting in Health Care magic. Greetings from XXXXXXX
By what you quote I feel what your kid could be having viral associated wheeze or multi triggered wheeze. I have a few questions for you -
Questions:
1. How many days per month does he cough or feel breathless?
2. How many nights per month does his sleep get disturbed due to above symptoms?
3. Does he feel breathless when he runs around or plays with other kids?
4. Are the symptoms when there are seasonal changes?
5. Is there any family history of asthma or any other sort of allergies like skin allergy etc.?
6. Is the cough always associated with fever?
Regards - Dr. Sumanth
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Prasad


Dear Dr. XXXXXXX
Thanks for the prompt response. Below are the answers to your questions.
1. How many days per month does he cough or feel breathless?
Answer: It does not happen regularly. Until now, he had cold, could along with wheezing and breathing difficulty only 2 times in 17 months. He did have cold without wheezing several times.
2. How many nights per month does his sleep get disturbed due to above symptoms?
Answer: It does not happen regularly. Only few nights occasionally. Not every month.
3. Does he feel breathless when he runs around or plays with other kids?
Answer: No. He runs a lot every day. Never observed any breathing issues when he runs.
4. Are the symptoms when there are seasonal changes?
Answer: Yes. On both occasions, there were seasonal changes.
5. Is there any family history of asthma or any other sort of allergies like skin allergy etc.?
Answer: Yes. Advay's Mom had dust allergy 10 years back, but it subsided. Mom's aunt also has asthma.
6. Is the cough always associated with fever?
Answer: No. This is the first time he had 100.4 fever. In the previous occurrence, he did not have fever.
Thanks for the prompt response. Below are the answers to your questions.
1. How many days per month does he cough or feel breathless?
Answer: It does not happen regularly. Until now, he had cold, could along with wheezing and breathing difficulty only 2 times in 17 months. He did have cold without wheezing several times.
2. How many nights per month does his sleep get disturbed due to above symptoms?
Answer: It does not happen regularly. Only few nights occasionally. Not every month.
3. Does he feel breathless when he runs around or plays with other kids?
Answer: No. He runs a lot every day. Never observed any breathing issues when he runs.
4. Are the symptoms when there are seasonal changes?
Answer: Yes. On both occasions, there were seasonal changes.
5. Is there any family history of asthma or any other sort of allergies like skin allergy etc.?
Answer: Yes. Advay's Mom had dust allergy 10 years back, but it subsided. Mom's aunt also has asthma.
6. Is the cough always associated with fever?
Answer: No. This is the first time he had 100.4 fever. In the previous occurrence, he did not have fever.
Brief Answer:
Looks like viral associated wheeze
Detailed Answer:
Hi.... by what you say I feel that your son may be having a viral associated wheeze.
Suggestions:
1. There are certainly alternative management therapies in allopathy now-a-days. Medicine has advanced a lot and wheezing is 100% controllable.
2. Inhalers are the newest management strategies for this. If I were your paediatrician I would suggest.... similar to what your Pediatrician has suggested. Metered dose inhaler - Levolin and this can used as rescue therapy whenever the kid is having severe cough or wheezing. The technique is very important and very crucial for the drug to be delivered correctly to the lungs. The technique of administering an inhaler using a spacer has to be taught to you by your doctor. So I suggest you consult your paediatrician for this.
3. Triggers can be environmental changes/ dust/ talcum powder/ seasonal changes/ un-cleaned a/c vents/ cold weather etc....we can specifically say this is the cause - unless we observe the kid closely - best person is the parent.
Hope my answer was helpful for you. I am happy to help any time. Further clarifications and consultations on Health care magic are welcome. If you do not have any clarifications, you can close the discussion and rate the answer. Wish your kid good health.
Regards - Dr. Sumanth MBBS., DCH., DNB (Paed).,
Looks like viral associated wheeze
Detailed Answer:
Hi.... by what you say I feel that your son may be having a viral associated wheeze.
Suggestions:
1. There are certainly alternative management therapies in allopathy now-a-days. Medicine has advanced a lot and wheezing is 100% controllable.
2. Inhalers are the newest management strategies for this. If I were your paediatrician I would suggest.... similar to what your Pediatrician has suggested. Metered dose inhaler - Levolin and this can used as rescue therapy whenever the kid is having severe cough or wheezing. The technique is very important and very crucial for the drug to be delivered correctly to the lungs. The technique of administering an inhaler using a spacer has to be taught to you by your doctor. So I suggest you consult your paediatrician for this.
3. Triggers can be environmental changes/ dust/ talcum powder/ seasonal changes/ un-cleaned a/c vents/ cold weather etc....we can specifically say this is the cause - unless we observe the kid closely - best person is the parent.
Hope my answer was helpful for you. I am happy to help any time. Further clarifications and consultations on Health care magic are welcome. If you do not have any clarifications, you can close the discussion and rate the answer. Wish your kid good health.
Regards - Dr. Sumanth MBBS., DCH., DNB (Paed).,
Note: For further queries related to your child health, Talk to a Pediatrician. Click here to Book a Consultation.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Prasad

Answered by

Get personalised answers from verified doctor in minutes across 80+ specialties
