Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the airways. An estimated 9 million children in the United States have it. Coughing, wheezing, and troubled breathing are some symptoms they experience.
What is asthma?
Asthma is a disease in which the inside walls of the airways become sore and swollen. It can begin at any age, and even most children have their first symptoms of asthma by age 5. Asthma symptoms in children can be more serious as they have smaller airways than adults. Moreover, certain risk factors account for asthma in children. These include:
- A family history of asthma
- Frequent respiratory infections
- Nasal allergies (hay fever) or allergic skin rash
- Low birth weight
- Exposure to tobacco smoke before or after birth
- Black ethnicity
- Being raised in a low-income environment
Asthma diagnosis in children:
A medical care specialist can diagnose asthma in children. He/she may diagnose the condition of your child based on the medical history, symptoms, and physical exam. Below are some of the diagnostic options that the doctor may perform. These are as follows:
- Medical history- In diagnosing your child’s asthma condition, you will play a crucial role as you may help the doctor understand the asthma symptoms in a child. The doctor may ask you about any history of breathing problems you or your child may have had. He/she may also ask about the family history of asthma, allergies, or lung disease. You need to describe the asthma symptoms to your child in detail.
- Physical exam: To perform a physical exam, the doctor will check your kid’s heart and lungs. He/she may also look for allergic nose or eye signs.
- Tests—If your child is six years of age or older, the doctor may perform a simple lung function test by doing a chest X-ray. The results of the test will help the doctor determine how severe the asthma is.
Asthma treatment:
There are numerous ways to treat asthma, including avoiding triggers, using asthma medications, and monitoring symptoms. The doctor will advise you to keep your child away from all sources of smoke. Moreover, based on your child’s medical history and the severity of their asthma condition, the doctor will provide you with an asthma action plan in writing. An asthma action plan describes accurate information about when and how your child should use asthma drugs and what to do when the condition gets worse.
An asthma action plan is crucial in controlling your little one’s asthma. Keep it handy, as it will remind you of your child’s daily asthma management plan when he/she develops asthma symptoms. Furthermore, a copy of the action plan should be handed over to his/her school teacher. Doing this may help your child’s teacher treat the asthma symptoms during an asthma attack.
Asthma medications:
Medicines don’t cure asthma, but they help patients manage their condition. Medicines for asthma treatment include long-term control of inflammation drugs. These include inhaled corticosteroids like Fluticasone, Budesonide, Cromolyn, and Theophylline. Moreover, short-term asthma inhalers provide immediate relief from asthma symptoms. These include Albuterol, Pirbuterol, and Levalbuterol, which work quickly but can’t keep your child’s symptoms from returning. Furthermore, if your child’s asthma doesn’t get under control, he/she often needs to use a quick-relief inhaler. This indicates that your child needs to see a doctor to make treatment changes.
To provide asthma medications, various drug delivery devices allow a kid to breathe the medication directly into the lungs. These include:
- Metered dose inhaler– These small and standard hand-held devices deliver asthma medications. Your child may also need a spacer with a mouthpiece along with the inhaler.If your child is younger than four, he/she may need a face mask that attaches to the spacer and delivers the medication while breathing.
- Nebulizer: This device turns medication into a fine mist and can easily deliver larger doses of medication into the lungs than an inhaler.
Conclusion:
Asthma is a condition that can’t be cured, but it can be well managed if its symptoms are controlled through proper medication and an asthma action plan. So, carefully control your child’s asthma symptoms and make necessary medication changes as needed. If you act quickly, your child is less likely to have a severe attack.
Amelia Smith
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