My granddaughter, 9, has had asthma since she was a baby. An asthma attack, i.e.; wheezing, difficulty breathing was always triggered by a cold. (not as often now) She used the albuteral as soon as she started having difficulty breathing. My granddaughter was prescribed a preventative steroid inhaler for daily use after she was hospitalized with asthma. Everything I read and both her pediatrician and allergist say to not use an inhaled steroid unless the asthma is out of control. Steroids can have serious side effects.
One event with a possible asthma diagnosis does not warrant using a steroid inhaler, in my experience. I suggest you question her doctor and express your concern after doing some research on the Internet. It's possible that her doctor is not familiar with current asthma care.
Coughing does not indicate that her airways are constricted. If she is coughing and has other symptoms such as wheezing, shortness of breath, even difficulty breathing that is not eased in other ways, then a rescue inhaler could be helpful. Using a steroid inhaler while she's coughing does not relieve symptoms. I think the steroid inhaler improves the health of the airways.over time.
You definitely should not start the inhaler every time she starts coughing, even if it's the albuterol. The reason a child coughs with an asthma attack is because the airways are constricted and not because they contain mucous although they may also contain mucous when it's a cold that has started the attack. Normal children also cough but only because the airways contain mucous or are irritated but not because they're constricted.
You do need more clear guidelines for use of the two inhalers. They are very much different from each other. One is to open the airways. They other is to improve the health of the airways by reducing inflammation. And I do not understand the necessity for the use of either one for your daughter. Is it possible that he wanted to use the steroid inhaler for a short period of time to reduce inflammation?
Here are some web sites that may help you have a better understanding.
http://asthma.about.com/od/treatmentoptions/a/tx_medguide...
http://asthma.about.com/lw/Health-Medicine/Conditions-and...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/besttreatments/ast...
I notice a difference in the use of cold. There is cold as in temperature and cold as in an infection. An infection is what frequently starts an asthma attack for my granddaughter. If she uses her rescue inhaler, Albuterol, when she first notices her symptoms the attack is aborted then with just one use. For her the first symptom is a tight feeling in her chest. If she doesn't use the rescue inhaler until she begins to wheeze she may have to use the inhaler several times with 15 minute wait in between use.
If a person's asthma is under control, i.e. Albuterol treatment stops the attack it does not last 3 days. An attack lasting that long would indicate the asthma is not under control and in my granddaughter's case indicated the need for hospitalization.
Coughing may be the first indication of asthma difficulty but coughing does not necessarily mean that asthma or constricted airways is the cause. I have pollen, dust, mold allergies and often cough without having mucous. I do not have asthma.
Asthma has different causes and many symptoms, some of which are common to all asthmatics and some of which are not. I just do not understand just as you, why your daughter needs inhalers.
When my granddaughter had her first attack before she was 1yo she was not prescribed an inhaler. It was after the second trip to the ER in a months period of time that she was given a prescription and that was only for Albuterol.