I took Alex to the doctor this morning because he seemed to be having to work really hard to breathe. He had a fever, cough, runny nose and his heart felt like it was trying to pound it's way out of his chest.
Dr's diagnosis: Pneumonia. And Asthma!
I knew asthma was coming. With his history of eczema, John's history of asthma...it was just a matter of time. Even though it wasn't really a surprise, I was still taken aback. I sat with him at the doctor's office while he breathed in Albuterol with a nebulizer, I listened intently when the nurse taught us how to use the inhaler, I took the pamphlet and asked questions on how to recognize an asthma attack all the while wondering what this has to do with Alex, we're just here because he has a cold.
I was surprised that it seemed so easy to diagnose. She just listened to his lungs (granted she listened for a long time we were there over an hour) before and after the Albuterol treatment and said "Yep, he's got asthma. Oh yea, and pneumonia, here's a prescription." I stared wondering why he didn't have x-rays. Aren't there more tests? I mean, shouldn't there be more hoops to jump through before you diagnose someone with a potentially lifelong lung condition? I guess with Alex's background, all she had to do was hear him wheezing and it's not a big leap to diagnosing asthma.
John's pretty upset about it. Growing up with asthma held him back from doing a lot of things he wanted to do. He didn't want Alex to have those same hurdles.
Right now he just has an Albuterol inhaler that he will use until his cough is gone. The doctor didn't think he needed a steroid or any maintenance medication, which makes me feel like his asthma must be pretty mild, at least right now. In fact, the doctor said that it could be that respiratory infections, like colds or the flu, could be his only trigger and we'd just make sure to a) keep him healthy and not get sick and b) if he does get sick, make sure to treat him with his Albuterol if his breathing gets wonky again.
As for the pneumonia, I pretty much forgot to ask any questions about that. It seemed to take a backseat to his asthma. She did prescribe Azithromycin for him and already after his first dose his fever's gone, his runny nose is drying up and he seems to be feeling much better overall. He's still got that cough, is it the pneumonia or the asthma? I'm not sure.
My poor little guy. In true Alex fashion though, he's taking it all in stride. He takes his medications, both the liquid and the inhaler, like a champ. No complaints. We've talked about his asthma and I told him that it's nothing to be scared about, that Daddy has asthma too. He tells me "I'm not scared Mama. I feel better now". That's my guy.
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