What causes cough, cold and heavy breathing?
Patient: i want to know exactly what it is wrong with my 2 and half year old son has he has been occasionally having cough and cold and is unable to sleep at night. my doc presribed ventolin syrup sugar free for him and it relieved him we had an xray done and his chest was clear. doe it means my son has asthma or we are preventing it.Doc also said we should have the drug handy at home. when he cant  sleep his breathing is fast and you could see his chest /stomach really rasing up and down very fast. Doctor: Hello,Thank you for asking at HCM.I went through your son's history and would like to make suggestions for him as follows:1. I would like to know his symptoms in great details before considering whether he has asthma. I would like to know more about him like - a. frequency of his respiratory symptoms b. since what age c. requirement of nebulization d. any gastric symptoms e. any other allergies f. family history of allergies/asthma etc etc2. At present, I would suggest you to give him combination of montelukast and levocetirizine for 1 months. 3. It is true that for fast breathing and wheezing (whistling sound from chest), some drugs should be handy at home. Were I treating you, I would suggest you to have salbutamol in inhaler form with spacer and mask device or nebulizer at home, as it becomes effective earlier than an oral drug.4. Childhood asthma is very different from adult asthma and it requires very detailed history before diagnosing asthma. 5. In general, I would suggest your child avoidance of smoke, air pollution and dusts as much as possible and a healthy diet rich in vitamin and nutrients to improve immunity.Hope above suggestions will be helpful to you.Should you have any further query, please feel free to ask at HCM.Wish your child the best of the health ahead.Thank you & Regards.