Confessions of an Asthma Mom

Earlier this week, I posted about Angry Toddler getting sick in his carseat. On Monday, Angry Husband kept Angry Toddler home from preschool. He said that he was coughing, had a runny nose, and felt "pukey". Angry Husband started our usual protocol. Angry Toddler has had several febrile seizures since he was a little under a year and a half. The kid can't control his temperature and it skyrockets within minutes. We can never predict when his temperature will rise and he show virtually no symptoms.

He went to school on Tuesday, as he felt a little better. Yet, he had a little wheeze and cough. I decided to give him a breathing treatment with his nebulizer. He used to fight the treatments as a baby, but he's ok with them now. On Wednesday, I dropped him off and one of his friends ran up to him. The kid had those dark circles under his eyes, the wet barky cough, and a runny nose. I walked right past the kid's mom on the way in. Umm thanks lady, my kid has allergies and asthma. You're soo awesome for bringing your sick kid into preschool. I gave the teacher "that look". She moved the kid away from Angry Toddler.

On Thursday, he was still a little wheezy so I gave him another breathing treatment in the morning, Of course, the temperature was really hot outside. The drastic change in temperatures also effects his asthma and allergies. Angry Husband picked Angry Toddler up from school. Angry Toddler's teacher advised AH that he had not taken a nap for two days, and that he was not eating, at all. Well, when Angry Toddler doesn't eat, we know that there is a problem. This kid eats like a fourteen year old. He has a huge appetite. Plus, his behavior was downright awful. There's nothing worse than a sick asthmatic kid doped up on steroids from the nebulizer, who also has ADHD. I decided that we needed to take him to the doctor the next morning. The doctor's office was already closed, so I had to wait for it to open on Friday morning.

At 8am, Friday, I called the doctor's office. I'm sure that the receptionist was not too happy when I called for an appointment that minute that they opened. I was able to get him in for a 10:15 appointment. I was at work, but Angy Husband was on his day off. He said that Angry Toddler looked a little better, but was going to get him checked out. They went to the doctor and she said that it appeared that he was just getting over a cold/virus. He had no signs of bronchitis or an ear infection. She said that we need to take him off all fevr medications, because we need to see if he gets a fever. If he had no fever wthin twenty four hours, he was good. She also told us to get him something for post-nasal drip if he had a runny nose.

Where am I going with this all? You are probably thinking that. Well, I know several people around me that have come down with H1N1. Since Angry Toddler has asthma and lung issues, he could potentially have more problems with it. Because he's been sick for almost a week with all of this, we could not given him any type of flu shot. I was waiting for his doctor to get more of the regular flu vaccine in stock. I started panicing on Thursday night, because some of the H1N1 symptoms show an absence of fever, etc. You just never know. Angry Husband and I both felt a lot better by getting him checked out before the weekend started.

Oh, and as for flu shots. I got one on Thursday. I work with some "interesting people", and they sometimes carry germies. I did not want to be the person to bring home something to my son. And the doctor strongly advised me to get the vaccine. The regular flu shot, not the H1N1. I'm still on the fence about the H1N1.