Hi
Thanks for your query.
I understand your concern.
Your child is having hyper responsive airway disease.
Relax these medication is safe.
I suggest you to be in regular follow up with your pediatrician as treatment regime needs to be stepped up or down depending upon symptoms.
Usually symptoms decrease with growing age if child.
Hope this helps.
God bless..

Hi,thank you for your interest in HCM and very nice to answer you.It seems your daughter of 3 years and 9 months old is having Hyper reactive airway disease since 18 months and you kept her on Foracort puffs.It is better to investigate for any chest infection by taking Chest x-ray as well as mantoux test which should be treated promptly and with regard to betnesol drops as it is a corticosteroid,it should not be used continuously as these are toxic and cushingoid syndrome may result if used constantly for months together.Usually,childhood bronchial asthma abates by 5-6 years,it is better to use inhalation therapy as it is devoid of toxic effects because the inhalation dose is almost one-tenth of systemic dose,and hence quite safe.Ofcourse,the exacerebations may be controlled effectively.

Hi there,

Thank you for choosing HCM. I would be glad to help.

There are several issues which I would like to bring here.
If your daughter is requiring steroids that are taken by mouth so frequently in a year that means her Asthma is poorly controlled.
There are a few things I would suggest here which you can discuss with your doctor and choose the best path for her.
1. A 3yr old child may not be very efficient at being able to use the inhaler well, so half the medication may not be reaching her. So, she needs to be using a spacer along with a mask in order for the medication to reach her lungs fully.
2. Also, if the above is not an issue. then, I would suggest you discuss with her pediatrician change in her treatment. foracort has 2 medications in it: one is budesonide and the other is formeterol. For your daughter's age, it is recommended if possible she be controlled on plain budesonide first and only if not being controlled she be started on the combination. I would suggest you can increase the daily dose of her inhaled medication to 200 of the plain budesonide. And discuss with your doctor on adding a medication called monteleukast which is taken by mouth. And to control her wheezing or coughing attacks intermittently, she can be placed on inhaler salbutamol which can be used as frequently as every 4-6 hrs. And she can use this inhaler 10 minutes before she goes to play to prevent her from getting wheezing while she is running.
3. She will need regular follow ups with her doctor about every 3 months initially to see how her control is and to see if she needs any change in her medicines.

Regarding side effects of the medicines: inhaled steroids remains in the lungs mostly and does not cause any serious long term harmful effects to the body. Only thing is they can cause a fungal infection of the mouth which can be prevented by rinsing the mouth thoroughly after every use of the inhaler. But there are definite long term effects of the steroids taken by mouth if they are taken very frequently, like it can affect the growth of the child and can make the bones weak. So, it is advisable to have her asthma controlled so steroids by mouth can be avoided as much as possible and taken only when she is in real distress.

The best way to avoid her asthma attacks is to get educated about the problem, the things that trigger these attacks and the medications. You are on the right track by asking lot of questions.

Hope this piece of information helps and you can visit your doctor and discuss how best to control her Asthma.
Wishing you and your daughter great health.
Regards,
Dr. Sumeet.