cough variant asthma

[Guest guest]

It is very possible to have asthma that manifests itself as just a dry

croupy cough, that often occurs in spasms, and nothing seems to make it

stop. It is called cough variant asthma. My 9 year old and I both have

this type of asthma. We never wheeze, even when in crisis. This type

of asthma is often mis-diagnosed or not treated properly because the

cough is not seen as " asthma " . No OTC or prescription cough meds make

the cough go away. Albuterol helps, and steroids are the cure to

getting rid of it, if this type of asthma is the cause of the cough.

However, sinus problems, allergies, and GERD are often complicating

factors that make the asthma worse. If all the causes are not treated,

the cough will remain to some degree, even with appropriate asthma

treatment. We found that my son's asthma was very difficult to treat.

He was officially diagnosed when it finally got bad enough that his

FEV1 was only 55% of predicted, but he was still not wheezing. Just

coughing constantly day and night, to the point of being unable to catch

his breath. Albuterol and prednisone improved things, but until the

doctors figured out that he had a hidden sinus infection and GERD, he

did not get significantly better. After antibiotics and reflux meds, he

started doing much better. Postnasal drip can from allergies or sinus

infection can also aggravate the cough and may need to be treated with

allergy meds and decongestants. If it is truly cough variant asthma,

some asthma meds will be required to get rid of the cough as well.

This type of asthma requires a lot of detective work from the doctor to

get it treated and the cough gone. I will say that after coughing for

years of my life, being known as " the cougher " at school, and thinking I

would always have this annoying cough, I have periods now when things

are in good control, where I don't cough at all! So keep working with

the doctors, as the cough can be treated, but it may take awhile to get

all the things making it worse under control. You may end up needing

quite a bit of medicine: allergy meds, decongestants, steroid nose

sprays, reflux meds and antibiotics, in addition to whatever asthma meds

are prescribed. It all seemed overwhelming at first, but having the

cough gone and our lives more normal is worth any amount of medicine at

our house. So for those of you with the coughing children, hang in

there and keep pushing the doctors to find the best medication combo.

Hopefully your kids will start doing better soon.

[Guest guest]

I too hate those dreaded words " But you sound perfectly clear " when

going to the ER/Urgent Care, while coughing so hard that I'm unable to

talk. It seems that no ER doctor I have ever seen has heard of cough

variant asthma. Fortunately I rarely have to go now, once I got

referred to an asthma specialist. He is much more aggressive about

treating even a slight worsening and is willing to take my word how I'm

doing over the phone. It makes such a difference when I get immediate

treatment without waiting hours for it to get worse enough for the ER

doc to believe there is really a problem. It's so nice to know I am not

alone out there in this!

> > >

> > >

> > > It is very possible to have asthma that manifests itself as just

> a dry

> > > croupy cough, that often occurs in spasms, and nothing seems to

> make it

> > > stop. It is called cough variant asthma. My 9 year old and I

> both have

> > > this type of asthma. We never wheeze, even when in crisis. This

> type

> > > of asthma is often mis-diagnosed or not treated properly because

> the

> > > cough is not seen as " asthma " . No OTC or prescription cough meds

> make

> > > the cough go away.

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Cough variant asthma patients generally have the typical asthma

triggers-that is one clue in the diagnostic process that the cough is

from asthma and not something else. Cold air, exercise, viral

infections, smoke, perfumes, chemical odors, and allergies are all

triggers for asthma (and I'm sure I forgot a few). Most people have

their own individual combination of triggers that will set them off. If

your son is allergic to milk and he avoids milk, that will remove one

trigger, but he will still probably react to any of his other triggers.

Trying to avoid as many triggers as you can is helpful, but some you

just can't completely avoid without breathing, like pollen. Viral

infections are also notorious for setting off an asthma flare and kids

just get colds alot (at least it seems that way at our house!).

> >

> >

> > It is very possible to have asthma that manifests itself as just a

dry

> > croupy cough, that often occurs in spasms, and nothing seems to make

it

> > stop. It is called cough variant asthma.

>