Asthma is the most common chronic (long-term) childhood disease. In America about nine million children are diagnosed with asthma. Up to ten percent of children in Europe are also experiencing asthma symptoms. Unfortunately parents of those children are often uninformed about the many approaches to control childhood asthma.
Childhood asthma
If you suspect your child has asthma the initial priority is correct identification. However, bear in mind that symptoms may differ from episode to episode and not all wheezing and coughing is brought on by asthma. Asthma-like symptoms in children younger than five are generally because of virus or bacterial infection of the airways. However, if your child is experiencing breathing problems it’s ideal to get them to a physician whatever the cause.
About eighty percent of children who develop asthma do this until age five. Studies indicate that children living in rural areas have lower rates of asthma than those who reside in cities, especially if they spent their first five years in a rural location. For children living in inner cities that the cockroach allergen appears to worsen asthma symptoms more than dust mite or pet allergens.
Remember
Another important step in the control of your child’s asthma is to make sure that general upkeep and cleaning routines are followed to make sure cockroaches aren’t encouraged to the home. Levels of cockroach allergens are found to be greatest in high-rise flats. Another element that’s been associated with the development of asthma in children is exposure to smoke. A study in Norway showed that nearly ten percent of adult asthma patients had undergone passive smoking during early youth.
Another step to take at home is to make certain that your child isn’t exposed to tobacco smoke. If your doctor recommends using medicine the next step is to encourage your child to take the medication. Asthma is among the principal causes for emergency room visits by children. Yet studies have shown that around half of those hospitalizations might be preventable if children, especially teenagers, followed their drug schedule properly, prevented their asthma triggers and made regular visits to the physician.
Take into account
Perhaps fear of side effects or dependency, or a belief it is uncool to be seen taking medications is preventing kids taking their medication as often as they should. Perhaps intermittent asthma symptoms convince children and their parents it is not important to take drugs if there are no signs. This is a mistake. Even when there are no apparent signs an asthmatic’s lungs will be inflamed to a degree.
How the condition appears to run in families with a history of allergies or asthma suggests that certain folks are born with a predisposition to asthma. Some may believe you’re born with the condition and there’s nothing you can do. However a child’s environment may also play an essential role. Studies have found that exposure to possible allergens like pollen and pets in the first six months of life may decrease the possibility of developing asthma later.
However exposure beyond six months old has the contrary effect. Being born into a family that already has siblings also appears to decrease the chance of developing asthma. It’s known that children are more vulnerable to viral and allergic triggers in relation to adults. An important step in controlling your child’s asthma is identifying the causes and teaching your child how to recognize their asthma triggers and avoid them.
Did you know?
One possible trigger is aspirin, with over 100,000 kids vulnerable to asthma symptoms caused by the medication. Children often spend more time outdoors during the summer holiday. If pollen or elevated levels of ozone activate your child’s asthma you will need to monitor these. Physical exercise is a frequent cause of childhood asthma. Teach your child to take medicine if needed, and also do warm up exercises before strenuous activity and wind down exercises afterwards.
If your child is going away to camp throughout the holiday make sure those in charge are aware of your child’s asthma management and action plans. There are camps designed specifically for asthma sufferers in the U.S.. It’s critical to have a written action plan that clearly says what medicine to take and when, in addition to how to respond to an asthma attack.
Your child may not recall what to do in a time when it might be hard for them to breathe, so it’s essential to have the critical details in writing. It’s important you and your child stay calm during an attack because anxiety can produce more breathing problems. A parent’s instinct is to cuddle their kid, but that would constrict the torso farther. If asthma is diagnosed your next step would be to notify your child’s school.
Take note
Every college must allow access to asthma drugs and a few allow kids to take and self-administer their asthma medication if certain requirements are satisfied. Whilst we are talking about schools here is one frequently overlooked childhood asthma trigger. School buses are important sources of pollution, and studies show kids who ride them are vulnerable to five to fifteen times as much asthma triggering particulates within the buses compared to outdoors.
New Jersey recently passed a law requiring retrofitting of school buses and municipal vehicles to clean up tailpipe emissions. Is your state doing the same? Remember, if asthma is supported you want to educate yourself. According to the experts knowledge is the best prescription. To halt the disease impacting your child’s life you will need to understand how to track and manage asthma. This will mean understanding how to use medications properly, whether your child’s attacks are triggered by allergens and if so how to decrease exposure to them, and the lifestyle changes that will help your child stop attacks.
Final note
Despite being a widespread disease there are still lots of myths about asthma. Among the most damaging of them for kids is that the illness will improve every seven decades or may even disappear completely. Unfortunately, any noticeable improvement is most likely due to hormonal fluctuations as the child’s immune system matures. The underlying condition doesn’t go away and not handling it may result in long-term lung damage.
