Daughter diagnosed with Asthma, first stage?

Blaze, I truly know how hard it is to put your kids on meds. My younger son suffers from ADHD and low growth hormone so I have had to make the med decision too. Ventolin is a "rescue" inhaler which is the first line of defense when you get an astma diagnosis. It is albuterol. In higher doses and in sensitive folks it can cause a nervous jittery feeling but most people tolerate it well. Once she finishes the prednisone try to keep her off that stuff as much as possible! It can be really bad for the body if it is taken too often. It is good medicine to get over a really bad exacerbation of asthma but I've seen too many get to where they need it too much and it is really hard on a persons system. She may feel very restless while on prednisone (it's a steroid as you probably already know), it may give her some hadaches, can increase the appetite and she may have some insomnia while on it. You did not say how old she is. Hopefully she can control her symptoms well with the Ventolin. There are some inhalers to graduate to that contain an inhaled steroid that give a little better long term control if she needs it but it is better not to use the steroids if she is doing well without them. A really good resource for asthma is the American Lung Association. On this site they have a tool you can print off and take it to the Dr and have him fill it out for you. It is a written action plan that tells you what to do in case her symptoms get really bad. It is good to have it in written form because when you get into a situation where your child cant breathe, you wont be able to think clearly past your panic and this sheet goes thru step by step what to do for what symptoms and when to call the Dr or go to the hospital ER. Trust me, this is a good thing to have available BEFORE you get in a situation to need it. Especially for a child. I've seen excellent nurses whose education flies right out the window when it comes down to their own kid being ill! American Lung Assoc has great info to educate yourself about asthma. The more info you know the better! Go in and meet with your daughters school nurse too. Your daughter will need to have a good relationship with this person and you need to have good rapport with her too since she will be the one making initial decisions about your daughter in your stead while your daughter is in school. Once you get your written plan filled out by the doc, your school nurse should have a copy too. Another thing to remember is to periodically check expiration dates on her inhalers. She may go thru periods where she doesnt have a lot of symptoms and may not use the inhalers often and the inhaler will be left in a drawer. You may want to write the expiration dates on a calendar so you can get a refill before it expires. You dont want her to have an attack only to find out the inhaler is expired. Also see if you can get a school supply so that an inhaler can be at home and one can be left at school. Kids never remember to bring one back and forth. Arm yourself with as much education about asthma. You will do great!