On Wednesday, Jessie James Decker’s two-year-old son, Forrest, was hospitalized again for difficulty in breathing—the third time in the past six weeks, Decker said in a post on Instagram.
Decker, 32, took her toddler to the hospital after he puked three times, likely from how much he was coughing, she says. “Every time he gets a tiny cold, he starts wheezing and his oxygen levels drop and heart rate goes up,” Decker writes. “It’s scary to watch his vitals drop, hear his grunting and see his chest struggling so much to take a breath.” The doctors “gave him stronger meds and treatments and watched him through the night,” and she brought him home the following day.
The likely cause of the toddler’s scary attacks is asthma, Decker says, a chronic respiratory disease that causes inflammation in the inner walls of the airways, which makes it hard to breathe. “Ultimately I’m being told he has asthma even though he’s pretty young to diagnose,” she says in the caption, next to a photo of Forrest wearing a nebulizer while recovering at home.
The next step is taking Forrest to a specialist to look into potential triggers for the asthma attacks, or symptom flare-ups. “So confusing for a parent to have this issue and just not know what to do or why it’s happening,” Decker says. Forrest’s symptoms started last year and have become more chronic since, Decker says. “He’s a champ, but it breaks my heart when he tells me ‘Mommy, my chest hurts’ in his sad little voice.”
Decker, who has three young children with her husband, Eric, shared Forrest’s story seeking the support of the parenting community on Instagram and advice from parents who’ve had similar experiences. “I don’t love to post too much of this kind of stuff because my babies are precious to me,” Decker says. “But I’ve had some amazing advice from fellow Insta moms that I genuinely appreciate. So thank you.” She asked, “Other than an allergist and a specialist, did this go away for your babies? I wonder if he’s now allergic to pet hair?”
It’s not uncommon for children to go to the hospital for an asthma attack. Asthma is actually the leading serious chronic illness for children in the U.S.—and the third highest cause of hospitalizations in children under age 15, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Asthma can be particularly severe in children because they have smaller airways than adults, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Smaller airways can easily become narrow from swelling.
As Decker alluded to, asthma can be hard to diagnose in babies and toddlers. In adults and older children, doctors typically measure lung function to help make a diagnosis, but that’s difficult to do in small children, the AAP explains. Young children also can’t always use language to express what they’re feeling. So doctors largely base their diagnosis on the child’s symptoms and family medical history, which has its own challenges.
The possible symptoms of asthma are the same in children as adults: wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. Children might also have trouble sleeping and experience fatigue. But sometimes chronic coughing is the only symptom a child shows, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI). To parents, this might seem more like a cold than asthma. (Colds can also worsen asthma symptoms.) The symptoms can also look like other respiratory diseases, the AAAAI says.
When looking for possible triggers, it’s important to note when the symptoms show up, the AAAAI explains. Symptoms that occur or worsen at night or early in the morning, during certain seasons, in cold weather, after exercise, or when exposed to common asthma triggers (like animals, dust, or smoke), for instance, are more indicative of the condition, according to the AAAAI. An allergist can help figure out what allergens your child is sensitive to.
Sometimes doctors will diagnose asthma in kids by starting them on the first-line treatment and seeing if their symptoms improve, per the AAP. Treatment includes quick-relief medications that open up the airways to treat asthma symptoms during an asthma attack, as well as medicines that can help prevent symptoms and attacks in the long-term, such as inhaled corticosteroids, the U.S. National Library of Medicine says. According to the Mayo Clinic, nebulizers, which supply a mist of medication through a face mask, are often the best inhaler devices option for young children because they are easy to use.
But the first step to getting the right treatment is getting an accurate diagnosis—at any age.
Related:
- 10 Signs of Asthma Absolutely Everyone Should Know
- Does Asthma Increase Your Risk for Severe Coronavirus Symptoms?
- Jessie James Decker Defends Picture of Herself Drinking While Breastfeeding: ‘I Know What I’m Doing’