Is My Son's Coughing Fit an Indication of an Asthma Attack?

Question

I would like to know whether what I am going to relate regarding my son’s experience was an attack that he had. He is a cough variant type asthmatic generally brought on by the cold. Just before leaving for a ‘trick-or-treating’ on a hay ride, he started coughing so I got him to take two puffs of his inhaler. All these days, he was using the nebuliser and this was the first time he was inhaling. He seemed to be coughing more as we were leaving. At night after his bath, I gave him his usual Pulmicort and as he was still coughing, I added Xopenex to it in the nebuliser as I was told to do by his doctor. He was also given the Singulair and the Sudal. He seemed to be coughing right through the breathing treatment and even choking some of the time but I do not think he was wheezing. The coughing went on for some more time; say 20 minutes to half an hour and then it subsided. Now can you tell me if what my son experienced was an attack? Do you think that it is necessary to call his doctor? When he had seen his allergy and asthma specialist on Friday he said that my boy was doing well. He is currently on two doses of Pulmicort every day, with Xopenex and Sudal as necessary and Singulair also daily. I was under the impression that all was well but with this incident, I am so worried and even scared to sleep because I worry that I will not hear him coughing once I sleep off and I would also like to know if I should call his specialist or the pediatrician?

Answer 1

Symptoms of an asthma attack are the following:

Severe wheezing when breathing both in and out
Coughing that won't stop
Very rapid breathing
Chest pain or pressure
Tightened neck and chest muscles, called retractions
Difficulty talking
Feelings of anxiety or panic
Pale, sweaty face
Blue lips or fingernails
Or worsening symptoms despite use of your medications.

There are also cases of mild asthma attacks which are generally more common. As for your kid, yes you should really talk to his doctor or an asthma specialist. And also remember that the most important thing to control asthma is to stay away from "asthma triggers".

Visit this link for asthma triggers: http://www.cdc.gov/asthma/triggers.html