Reactive airway disease?

[newlywed2013]

My 2 year old was hospitalized for 3 days right before her birthday for bronchiolitis, was on oxygen and struggling to breathe. She was sent home with a nebulizer with albuteral. 3 weeks later we were back in the er for 7 hours and 3 back to back albuteral treatments. A week later back again but she didn't need any additional help that time.

We just had her 2 year checkup and they called it reactive airway disease. She's on an Inhaled steroid daily, twice a day when she's sick. We have the albuteral nebulizer and an inhaler.

Any experiences, advice? I'm so lost. We have a family history of asthma, the Dr's keep telling me she might outgrow it but I'm not getting my hopes up..

 

[Eleanor ace]

Hey . My DS was identified as having RAD as a baby (6 months), diagnosed with asthma about 3 months later (although the pediatrician referred to it as asthma from 6 months so we knew that we were going to get the official diagnosis). He was on becotide and salbutamol with a nebuliser for at home when he had a bad episode. He is now 5 and for the last year I have thought he's growing out of it; he's needing his blue inhaler less and less, he bounces back from episodes much quicker and often without steroids.
It can be hard to wrap your head around it at first but you will quickly get used to the medication routines and pre-empting an episode so you can reduce their severity

 

[newlywed2013]

Thank you. They won't even use the word asthma to us, I don't understand why. It's so frustrating.

 

[Eleanor ace]

I know they are usually really cautious about diagnosing asthma until they've tried the medication, seen whether LO improves with them (suggesting that they do have asthma) and then diagnosing it, as some children are just prone to chest/lung infections and they don't want to misdiagnose. It must be really frustrating though .
How is she doing with the inhalers? How often are you having to use the nebuliser?

 

[newlywed2013]

We only seem to have to do it when she has a cold, which is every 3 to 4 weeks since she's in daycare.