Asthma in Children

Asthma is the most worrying of the respiratory disease, especially in infants and children. A child suffering from asthma has issues with breathing in rather than breathing out because of small bronchi. Asthma is the prominent cause of chronic illness in children in the United States. Studies show, about 20 million people have asthma and nearly 9 million of them are children. For reasons widely unknown, the number is steadily increasing. On an average, asthma symptoms can be seen as early by the age of five.

Asthma symptoms vary from child to child. In fact, warning signs cay be different from episode to episode in the same child. However, a list of common signs and symptoms of asthma in children is given below:

• Constant coughing during night, playing or laughing.
• Persistent cough.
• Rapid breathing.
• Fatigue.
• Wheezing- a whistling sound while inhaling and exhaling.
• Chest congestion.
• Retraction in the chest from labored breathing.
• Feelings of weakness and tiredness.

However, there are certain causes or risk factors for developing asthma in children. These comprise:

• Allergens- mold, pollen, animals, nasal allergies etc.
• A family history of asthma.
• Frequent respiratory infections.
• Underweight at the time of birth.
• Exposure to tobacco smoke before or after birth.
• Being raised in a low-income environment.

Your child’s doctor is the best position to treat asthma. He might be interested in knowing the medical history of your family for any kind of allergy or lung disease. It’s quintessential on your part to describe all the symptoms like cough, wheezing, shortness of breath, chest pain and so on. Based on the symptoms, your child’s doctor may go for a physical exam wherein he checks your child’s heart and lungs and look for signs of an allergic nose or eyes.

 

Your child’s doctor will draft out an Asthma Action Plan according to the seriousness of asthma. The plan will describe when and how to take the medication, what to do when asthma gets worse or in the case of an emergency. Avoiding triggers, using medications, and keeping an eye on daily asthma symptoms are the ways with which asthma in children is controlled. In addition, keep the child away from smoke along with giving proper medication.