i have asthma, i take seratide for it and it is brilliant. pre-seratide i had bricanyl (sp?) and i needed it a fair bit. with seratide i only need it when my allergies flare up or i get really sick, or when the seratide runs out
if it runs out, i'm just really short of breath all the time; i can't walk AND talk at the same time and walking puffs me out etc etc.. but anyway -

last month i took F out and my MIL remarked that he'd developed a cough and was under the weather, i thought he just had a cold. he had a really unsettled night where he was up and down (really unusual for him) and screaming and coughing and crying and breathing quite fast and he would stop and grunt... in the morning when he woke up he was so puffed that he had to stop to breathe in the middle of a sentence, and he was still breathing fast so i took him to after hours, who sent us to the hosp, who treated him with ventolin and he got better quickly and they sent us home with a puffer and instructions to use it if we thought he needed it.

thing is, i don't know when he needs it? he hasn't been THAT bad again, but still when he runs or plays hard or whatever he gets a bit puffy and coughs a dry cough - i dunno, like i do if i run, its like being puffed out irritates my chest and makes me cough which makes it harder to breathe etc etc - but then he seems to come right (but then it also takes a lot to knock him, IYKWIM?). he also coughs in the morning and if it's cold at night (but doesn't wake up coughing).

is it asthma? should i be giving him the ventolin when he's coughing? help?

I would go see an asthma educator..they rock when it comes to anything with this and give much more detailed answers to questions and help explain things well.
I would think from my kids experience that ventolin is the treatment and you would need a preventor (flixotide). Once preventer is on board then this reduces the times they need the ventolin. And if they are still needing the ventolin lots, then they would need to be seen by dr/gp/pead/asthma educator again to review whats going on with treatment.
I would be giving the ventolin when coughing but each person has a set amount they are allowed and should have a plan of what steps are to be taken to help with it.
How is he going now??