Did You Know About These Inhaler Side Effects?

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When “a little cough” leads to a big scare.

It started as a simple cough. Then simple turned into complicated. And then our family took one giant step backwards.

“We’ve come so far,” I sobbed to my husband. “This isn’t fair,” I cried into his shoulder.

It took me years to quiet the fears after our daughter suffered her first and nearly fatal seizure.

It took time and hard work to get back on track after that. Eventually the fear faded into subtle background noise and we finally had a taste of what family life is like without the constant stress. We stepped outside our comfort zone and ventured far and wide and high. We traveled by plane—up in the air for hours away from the possibility of medical assistance. We enjoyed a cabin high up in the mountains. We frolicked in lakes, camped, and canoed, paddling farther and farther away from access to help if we should need it. But guess what? I wasn’t worried. At all. Life was sweet—the sweetest and most fun it’s ever been for our family.

Then the cough. 

Our son got it first pretty much as we set out on our vacation (this was several years ago, so way before Covid, just in case you wondered). It was just a dry cough, nothing serious and no other symptoms. Then a few weeks later, near the end of our family vacation in B.C. my husband and daughter Avery began to cough too. Just a throat tickle really. But what makes this particular cough so bizarre (other than the fact that me, the germ sponge of the family, didn’t get it) is its persistence. For Sebastian, it lasted over eight weeks. But he’s a strong healthy kid and for him, the cough is just an annoyance.

My husband coughed every night for weeks. It was a loud startling hack that forced him into hiding. He retreated to a mattress in a sleeping bag in the basement every night like a squater in his own home.

Both were checked and re-checked by several doctors. “Just a cough caused by a virus. Let it run its course,” they were told.

But for our little girl, a cough is alarming. And the side effects are the most alarming part of all. And the part that has brought her mama’s fear flooding back in crashing waves.

My husband brought her to our family doctor the day we got home from vacation. “Just a cough caused by a virus. Let it run its course,” they were told once again.

Her lungs were clear, no fever, no other symptoms, so this diagnosis made sense. Over the next few nights however, the cough worsened. Avery had trouble breathing and began to gasp for air.

“Could this be Whooping Cough?”

My husband took her to a walk-in clinic first thing the next morning. This was not Pertussis the doctored assured us. Just a normal cough. But he prescribed a Flovent puffer and recommended a cough suppressant to keep the symptoms under control.

We were told to give her four daily puffs. The WRONG dose. This type of puffer should not be taken more than twice daily. I found this information online and this was later confirmed by one of Avery’s specialist doctors. Less than 24 hours after her first puff, her symptoms worsened dramatically and she exhibited these symptoms below.

As well as these symptoms listed on askapatient.com

Flovent inhalers are prescribed to treat the symptoms of Reactive Airway Disease. Avery does not have RAD. Studies have indicated that though the steroid medication Fluticasone used to help prevent asthma attacks does reduce inflammation in the airway, it can also produce a thick mucous—a thick mucous that a little girl I know has choked on. I’m not passing judgement on inhalers. They certainly serve a purpose and work for some people, but not for us.

If you use an inhaler, be sure to rinse well after each and every puff.

Avery’s doctor told us that the use of Flovent puffers can cause a fungal infection in the mouth/throat/sinuses.

Within forty-eight hours of beginning the Flovent, Avery lost her appetite and complained of a sore stomach. Then that night she vomited. She was having a sleep-over in her brother’s bed. Something they do often. Thank god for that. He shouted downstairs to us to come quickly. He couldn’t hear Avery breathing. He sat her up and by the time we got there, only seconds later, she was choking on her stomach contents. I don’t know how long it was before she vomited again, dislodging whatever was caught in her throat. Maybe a minute. The longest minute.

Avery has been sleeping with me ever since.

Two days later I made Avery her favourite lunch, mac and cheese, which she declined. She said her tummy hurt. I asked her to take a sip of water to stay hydrated. The second the water hit her stomach, she gagged, and began choking. Then stopped breathing completely. Her lips started to turn blue. I think I screamed and my husband took control of the situation. And then Avery vomited into the sink. It cleared her airway and she caught her breath.

Back to the doctor. The clinic doctor (our trusted family GP was away) didn’t take any of this seriously at all. When I got upset and pointed at all the evidence, he listened. He confirmed that 4x a day for the Flovent was wrong—that we should continue use, but at 2x daily. He prescribed an additional Ventolin ”Rescue” inhaler to open the airway in case of emergency.

The emergency came three days later. 

After a few days with very little coughing, it seemed Avery was on the mend. We spent the day at my parent’s house—playing and having lunch by the pool. I went inside for a minute but when I heard a commotion, I ran back outside. Avery was choking again.

My mum shouted at me to go get the rescue inhaler. I searched the pool bag, but it wasn’t there. I panicked. Then I remembered it was in my purse in the house. I ran to grab it. When I came back Avery was pale and she looked afraid. Her brother was beside her, telling her firmly, “Avery, breathe through her nose.”

As I got closer, she suddenly vomited onto the pool deck. She started coughing and taking in deep gulps of air. My hands were shaking from adrenaline and I struggled to get the puffer to her mouth to give her a “just in case puff.” Then Avery said, in her typical Avery way, “I fine. I so sorry guys.” She apologized for upsetting us. My heart.

We stopped the Flovent Inhaler completely that day, and though the cough continued for a few more weeks, the adverse effects of the inhaler went away.

Avery didn’t seem to be upset by any of what happened. And years later now, she has no recollection of any of it. I wish I could say the same.

My son remembers it all.

It makes me sad he had to see any of it, more than once, and my parents too. It’s an upsetting image to carry around and it’s hard to shake.

We returned to my parents’ to spend Labour Day poolside. The moment I saw the spot where Avery choked the week before, I couldn’t breathe. I felt frustrated with myself. The sun was shining, there was yummy food, and an air mattress with my name on it. Avery was fine. And we had things under control. But when I closed my eyes and tried to breathe evenly, I found myself being pulled back to the day I found Avery lying unconscious in her crib in a pool of vomit. She had thrown up during a seizure. All the feelings came rushing back. My head spun and my heart raced. Try putting your head between your knees in a bathing suit. It’s not pretty.

I eventually got it together. And of course, my family didn’t make me feel weak for having this moment of weakness. They understood. Even more now, unfortunately.

We eventually found our way back to family life without fear. There are still times where the fear creeps back in. Like now actually. Avery is going through a season of change where seizures and “funny” heart beats keep us on alert. Avery is sleeping right next to me again for now. *Not me in photo below. That’s Avery’s doll Charlie who seems to have an eye on her.

On the ABL Podcast: When Your Child Chokes