My 2 Year Old Has Breathing Problems

Take him off of wheat (anything with flour in it) and dairy!!It won't hurt him a bit to take him off those and see if things get better. It can only help since both of these foods encourage your body to line cells w/ mucus, which doesn't help the body when it's already having a hard time breathing! The doctors won't always tell you about the effects of severe food allergies, there's some things you just have to figure out for yourself. Whenever my little brother (who had a wheat and dairy allergy) would eat too much of anything with flour in it, he would develop the exact same symptoms that you just described.Don't worry- there's lots of flour alternatives and it will be very easy to adjust a 2 year old to the taste of spelt flour and rice milk. Health food stores are abundant in all kinds of alternatives to wheat (most of us actually lack the enzyme to process American wheat, but have lived with the side effects for so long that we don't recognize them anymore, but health food stores cater to the people who do recognize their wheat intolerance). Once you get the hang of what he can/ can't eat, you won't need the health food store- it will be 2nd nature. I can elaborate on why wheat causes problems in some people if you'd like, but it's basically because allergy (simply lack of a certain enzyme in their body that other people have) = inflammation. Inflammation in body = mucus (to protect the inflamed cells). Too much mucus = clogged airways and body producing fever to fight the perceived infection. Find a doctor who will get to the ROOT of the problem (generally an alternative medicine doctor, but there's some med doctors out there who are learning to take care of the root). Don't put up with people telling you they're not quite sure what's going on, here's some antibiotics for the symptoms. Antibiotics can cause a host of other problems now and later on in his life. If he has RSV, by all means, use the antibiotics. But have someone clearly make a diagnosis before trying to treat the symptoms- treat the root. Good luck!

Has your son been tested for RSV? If not, make sure you demand a test. It is a simple swab test. My son had it and they missed the diagnosis for 3 months! Call your doctor if you haven't had the test yet. It could save his life!

T.

Has your son been diagnosed with asthma? If not (and even if he has), I recommend getting a referral to take him to a pediatric pulmonary specialist. My middle child was sick from the time he was born until he was 18 months old, when I finally got him into a specialist. He was diagnosed with asthma (and his was complicated by allergies). The pulmonary specialist got him on meds to treat both the asthma and the allergies, and he was a completely different child within two weeks. He's seven now, and he's still had a few problems from time to time, but he has been pretty healthy for the most part since getting his asthma under control.

Hi T.,

First of all let me say, reread what Nicole said, there is a lot of good information there.

In addition to that...the rise of RSV and Asthma and many other respiratory conditions in this country are caused by the overabundance of new chemicals that we put in our homes, daycares, restaurants, shopping malls, schools, etc. The health department requires toxic chemicals everywhere but our homes. Detox your house! This is not only a good thing to do but is a very simple first step in determining what is wrong. If the chemicals are there, you cannot properly diagnose what is going on with your son.

Your son is small and so are his lungs and he is so much more susceptible to chemicals than you are. He is also closer to the floor and chemicals are heavier than oxygen so he's getting more than you are. Chemicals also out-gas, so whether you are using them or not, the fumes are still in your house. The smells you get on the grocery store isle is not because there are busted bottles but because the chemical leach through the plastic.

I have friends that have detoxed their homes and asthma has vanished. I have first hand experience with my youngest daughter. Her ADHD diagnosis was UN-diagnosed when I got the chemicals out of the house. Hyperactivity is the neurological system being attacked by chemicals. Windex and Pledge are on the top of the WORST list. I'm not just talking about cleaners but bath and body products also. (When I tell people that Johnson and Johnson Baby shampoo has a known cancer causing agent in it, they usually listen to me....)

If you would like to talk my Verizon cell number is ###-###-####. I have helped many moms detox their house without spending extra money. Take advantage of the research I have already done, It would be my pleasure!

Regards,

M.

Hi. I have two girls both with "asthma." My youngest has been on breathing treatments since birth. Whenever they start to sniffle I'm on guard b/c in the past it's become a full-blown infection with strong antibiotics, oral steroids, and 80 minutes a day of breathing treatments!

I recommend you take your son to a pulmonologist. Until then, here are some things to think about:
1. do you have a humidifier in his room?
2. do you have pets?
3. ask your doc if it's time to test for allergies
4. my girls were on treatments every 4-6 hrs...is your doc prescribing enough treatments?
5. is he practicing good hand-washing? are you? the daycare?

Good luck and my children are now 6 and 4 and they are starting to grow out of it. I nip it in the bud with the breathing treatments and it seems to work wonderfully. They're also on Singulair every night at bedtime and that helps a lot too.

S.

I also think it could be pnemonia or asthma.

Do NOT back down. Tell his pediatrician that you will get to the bottom of this. Do not let them tell you it is nothing. Mom knows it is SOMETHING. Get referral to specialists and go until they figure it out. It could be that he needs a different medication but it could be more serious. Ask for blood work, diagnostic tests anything! Most important do not let them tell you it will pass or any other stupid thing like that, they do not know your child----you do. I would be concerned if, when taking breathing treatments which are steroids that he is sleeping more. Makes me think that either he is working so hard to breathe that it tires him out or something else is going on. Good luck. Please email me if you need the names of some good doctors. I work in a hospital and can ask some of ours where they would go. Don't give up mom!
L.

A friend of mine just had a baby last week and she was having breathing problems. They ended up air lifting her to Atlanta due to an enlarged liver and blood sugar levels off the chart. The problem ended up being her left ventricle to her heart wasn't developed properly and therefore not pumping blood as it should. They say she will always be more lethargic than other kids, and the breathing problems were the signal something was going on. It's a long shot, but it's something to check out that maybe a doctor missed.

did the take xrays of his lungs , it sounds like he has pneumonia to me. My son has asthma triggered by allergies at 3 yrs old we have a nebulizer and a script for an inhaler. the Inhaler is SOOO much easier than the 10 min breathing treatments. If hes screaming and crying through them it dosen't help anyway. 4 puffs on the inhaler = 1 10 minute breathing treatment. after going to the emergency room he should see his dr the next day. Make an appointment and ask his DR about the pneumonia , the fever and the labored breathing should have sent up a red flag to the dr's in the ER. What Dr do you go to , if he's not nailing down what it is then get a new one, we use Dr Nesbit in Augusta he's great. and very patient with my kids and my self , heck last year he had to dig a piece of sytrofoam out of my sons nose that had been up there about a month and we didnt know until it started to smell.
good luck