Saturday, October 15, 2005

Stomach Virus Triggering Attack???

The morning after I'm told to take it easy by my midwife (I have an infection that put me at risk for preterm labor), #1 son wakes up with a fever. I saw this coming, as his coloring's been off for days and he had a cankar sore -- which always means something's coming.

I thought he just had a stomach virus. He was complaining that his tummy hurt (which can also mean his chest hurts, you never know) and had no interest in eating. He did have half a Dunkin Donuts pumpkin muffin and some soy milk mid-morning, but after napping for a bit, he brought it all back up. (So much for my resting -- I had to clean the sofa and the boy!) But I figured that was it. I just tried to get him to drink small sips of water or Pedialyte for the rest of the day.

This morning, he woke up still looking feverish and puffy. He hadn't thrown up again, but he was still nervous about eating, and he was really lethargic. He napped for a few hours, and then seemed much better.

Except that he was coughing!

It wasn't the typical, tight asthma cough. It was loose and junky, and completely lacking in punch. (I equate his "regular" asthma cough to a snare drum.)

After hearing these messy sounding coughs for much of the morning, I gave him some albuterol this afternoon. I didn't really think it was asthma related, but two puffs of albuterol...better safe than sorry.

Guess what? The coughing stopped.

I don't know if that's good or bad. On the one hand, I'm glad he's not coughing. On the other hand -- that junky cough responded to asthma meds. I can see how any cough might respond to albuterol via nebulizer; that's like standing in a room with a steaming shower. But this was via MDI. Does that automatically mean the cough is asthma- related? Or does any cough respond to albuterol, even administered through a spacer?

I guess we'll see. I'll post an update tomorrow.

BTW -- if I haven't posted as frequently, it's because I've become really involved the Asthma Parents mailing list through Yahoo! groups. I highly recommend this group; they're a great bunch of knowledgeable, supportive women.

5 comments:

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Elizabeth said...

Which group on Yahoo do you recommend? searching for asthma parents resulted in several possibilities.

Aimee said...

Elizabeth -- Here's the sig from the posts --

*Searchable list archives at: http://www.escribe.com/health/asthma-parents/index.html

*List members are not physicians and what is presented here is based on personal experience only. Information of interest that you read herein must be reviewed with a qualified health care provider.

*To unsubscribe send an email to: asthma-parents-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com *OR* visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/asthma-parents
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/asthma-parents/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
asthma-parents-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Hope this helps!

Juleah said...

Dear Aimee,
Did you ever find out about vomiting triggering an asthma attack? I'm newly diagnosed and recovering from a nasty stomach bug. Had an attack tonight after nearly 60 days of perfect control. A Google search pointed me here. I'd love to know what you have learned.
Many thanks and I'm so glad I found your blog.
-Juleah