We bought a nebulizer for the babies’ use

Our youngest child (No.4) was hospitalised due to upper respiratory tract infection when she was 3 months old. See the post on My 3-month old was admitted to hospital for upper respiratory tract infection. Our family’s coughing episode didn’t stop after she was discharged from the hospital in early May. She was not administered with any medication as the doctors at the hospital opined that she was too young for drugs. Since it was not life-threatening, they proposed to let her cough recover naturally.

Related post: Sterra Breeze Air Purifier Review – A Necessity At Home

By the 3rd week of May, No.3 started coughing too. In case this is the first time you are reading my blog, No.3 and No.4 are twins. Their cough continued to be whopping and I could hear phlegm accumulated in their airways when they coughed. We wondered if they were wheezing or even asthmatic. Probability is high because I was asthmatic throughout my pregnancy (see my earlier post here) and my son suffers the same too. I had childhood asthma and the attacks recurred when I was in my teens and subsequently in my late 30s. After 2 more trips to our regular paediatrician, the doctor finally gave our girls a prescription on cough because No.3 ran a fever.

Accumulation of phlegm is a no-go as the pool of mucus in the airways can become a breeding ground for bacteria which, in turn, can lead to lung infections like pneumonia.

See post by VeryWell on 5 Techniques to Clear Out Mucus in the Lungs.

Berodual Solution and Nebulizer

The babies were prescribed with Berodual, an asthma reliever which is used to prevent bronchospasm or tightening of the airways. We mixed 10 drops of the solution with 2ml of saline for the babies’ inhalation via the nebulizer.

The clinic gave us options to either rent the nebulizer or buy one at S$150. Considering that we have a number of asthmatic children and parent (me) we have at home, we decided to purchase the machine. It is also possible to purchase a nebulizer (tabletop and portable models) from the internet.  I only know this after I researched on this topic for the purpose of this post.

Pulmicort Budasonide

Berodual didn’t seem to be sufficient for No.3. We went back to the paediatrician again and he added Pulmicort into her inhalation concoction. Our little one stopped wheezing after a few days of inhalation but her cough continued. The doctor advised that her cough would have to run its course. Yes indeed, her cough stopped after a while. I think at that juncture, the doctor had not concluded that my little one has asthma. I believe he will observe further before making any conclusion.

Apparently, Pulmicort is a steroid used to control asthma. While there are many publications that state steroid hinders growth in children, Prof. Chay Oh Moh said the probability of uncontrolled asthma hindering their growth is higher.  If you are interested to know more about asthma and doctors’ perspective of asthma management, see Youtube link below for MOH’s channel on asthma management in children, presented by Prof. Chay. It is very informative and easy to understand.

I decided to write this post because No.3 was at it again. We took out the nebulizer for her inhalation over the past couple of days and her cough is now under control. I wondered the effects of the medication and decided to do some research. While this post is written for my own reference, I hope it is useful for anyone concerned with asthma too.

Useful links on Asthma

Asthma – What You Should Know by Singapore Respiratory Specialists

Conditions and Treatment by Singhealth

Management of Asthma by Ministry of Health

Asthma Management in Children(Part 1) by Prof. Chay Oh Moh

Asthma Management in Children(Part 2) by Prof. Chay Oh Moh

Items in the Photos

Baby Einstein Infant Toy Take Along Tunes

Update on 1 August 2018: From start to this year till now, we only took out the nebulizer once. Read this post here to find out what we did.

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