Epoh - You asked what indrawing around the ribs looks like. It's called retractions, and it causes your child's rib cage to look like that of an emaciated child - skin sucked in between each rib and almost pulling up underneath the bottom rib. If you see this, it is an indication that your child is struggling to get enough oxygen into the lungs and is in distress. If you Google asthma and retraction you'll get sme images.
Another note from experience - peak flow meters are not always reliable in small children or children with motor coordination issues. In those cases, using a stethoscope to listen for the amount of flow going through the lungs (all the way to the bottom vs. only the top portion) and an O2 saturation meter are helpful. I
f your child gets mucous plugs, you can use a cupped hand to rhythmically beat in your child's back from lower lung to upper to help dislodge them - the same technique used for cystic fibrosis. Doing this is a warm shower will often help a child expel a mucous plug and get past a crisis.
