We took Bennett to an asthma and allergy doctor yesterday. He came highly recommended by several people and we thought it would be a good step to take to see if the reason Bennett is getting sick so frequently is due to allergies. He ruled out food allergies without even doing a test since Bennett has never had an immediate, bad reaction to food (hives, closed throat, etc). After asking us several questions about Bennett, he did an environmental allergy test where he scraped his skin. Poor baby. Bennett didn't care for that. But the good news is it all came back negative which means Bennett doesn't have any allergies.
He does, however, feel that Bennett has asthma which is why he struggles to breath whenever he gets sick. Our ped has said the same thing but it's always good for another doctor to have the same thoughts and opinions. Both the asthma & allergy doctor and our ped said that they believe Bennett will grow out of it and it's nothing to be too terribly concerned with. He prescribed Bennett an inhaler (which we were planning on doing anyway) and wants us to use it on him every morning and night for several months....years even. He said we won't notice a difference in Bennett instantly, but over time it will help and hopefully prevent him from getting really sick, like he does now, in the future.
As far as why he's getting SO sick, so frequently, he thinks Bennett is just one of those kids who has a hard time dealing with being sick. He said his body over reacts and his lungs become inflamed. He called it chronic bronchitis. A person with chronic bronchitis often takes longer than usual to recover from common colds and viruses and people who have repeated bouts of bronchitis usually have asthma. If you google chronic bronchitis, it's usually caused by smoking or being exposed to second hand smoke so I just want to throw it out there that we do not smoke ever and aren't ever around anyone who does! So don't think we're smokers please!!
I feel better about everything now. I just wanted to get some answers and I feel pretty good about what all we were told. Both this doctor and our pediatricians have all said the exact same things which I think is great. I do have one more thing I would like to do for Bennett and that is to take him to the chiropractor. He went frequently when he was little bitty and it was so great. I believe in chiropractic care, and the girl we see is wonderful, so I just want to see if maybe she could help us. We're friends on facebook so she has seen my posts about Bennett being sick and I think she may have some ideas for us. We're going tomorrow so I'm looking forward to hearing her thoughts!
So that's where we are. Hopefully the inhaler helps Bennett and as he gets older he will be able to tolerate his sickness better. He is so pitiful when he gets sick and it's just so crazy how often he gets sick. Campbell has been sick a total of 3 times in his entire 3 years of life. I'm already dreading fall and winter but I'm crossing my fingers that these few things we're going to do for Bennett will help him stay healthy and that we won't struggle like we do now.
I'm glad you got some answers. Antonina was the same way, she was always sick and when she was, it immediately went to her chest and caused her asthma to flare up....every.time. I praise God for albuterol, one other medicine that escapes my brain right now and our nebulizer. As my kids got older (2.5 and 4) I sung the praises of Singulair. Brendan stopped it at 13 but Nina is still on it and she's 14 on Sat. That medicine finally helped them avoid getting so sick where it required hospitalization and also helped them to not get so bad when they did get sick. I've been through it all and it's such a frustrating road. I feel your pain. The good news is that they do grow out of it. Good luck tomorrow and hang in there.
ReplyDeleteI will have to remember singulair. I have a friend who's daughter has asthma and she gives her Claritin every single day and says it helps SO much. We may need to do something like that.
DeleteYep both my kids have taken allergy meds since they were small as well. They notice as they are older if they miss a day, they feel it.
DeleteI actually have chronic bronchitis! I was born at 29 weeks, and my lungs weren't developed at the time. When I get sick, even as an adult, I get sick, sick. The good news is my inhaler is my BFF. I have been on steroids, etc. and those tend to clear up flares. It stinks, though, because if someone around me is sick- I'm getting it-no questions asked. I can never ever be around secondhand smoke or smokers (especially in the car). So that means no bars for me where there's smoke. I've grown out of the worst of my asthma (praise God), and I actually no longer have asthma attacks! So I will be praying that he will grow out of the worst of it, and keep getting stronger every day!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I'm so glad you commented. If I ever have any questions about it I'm sure I'll reach out to you!
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