Update....Sam and his allergies/asthma....

Sam and I met with the allergy/asthma specialist yesterday at 4:30. We spend an hour telling our story of the past few days/weeks of his coughing (to the point of vomiting), congestion and breathing problems.

They listened to Sam's chest, back and throat and Sam even obliged and coughed some while we were there, giving them some better insight into his problems. Since he is only 3...almost 4....they can not do the "official" breathing test to diagnose him with asthma, but all signs point to that being his main issue.

Sam is going to be on 5 medicines for the next ten days to stabilize his airways and relax his bronchial tubes. Twice a a day he has to take Amoxicillin for a double ear infection (....Sam only complained of his ear bothering him once in the past 2 weeks and within hours of the complaint he said he felt fine.....). In the morning he has to take Prednisolone (liquid steroid), then at night has to have a dose of Benadryl, a dose of Pepcid (They think he might have some reflux going on too.) and a nebulizer treatment of Budesonide (inhaled steroid).

After ten days the Amoxicillin and the two steroids will be done. They want to see him back in 2 weeks to decide how to proceed from there, but we will probably still do the Benadryl, Pepcid and Albuterol nebulizer treatments to keep his airways relaxed and to prevent coughing fits.

We are going to get the air ducts in the house cleaned and next spring/summer we are going to replace the carpeting with a laminate or wood floor. The three cats and dog may be some of the problem too, but when Sam had the skin test he didn't show a major reaction to it. The doctors actually felt that him growing up with animals was a good thing, as far as allergies go.

The hope is that Sam will grow out of all this, but only time will tell.

I am very pleased with the treatment we are getting from the doctors and I am glad we now have a plan on how to stabilize and hopefully, prevent further asthma attacks.