The most prevalent chronic lung illness in children is Asthma. It affects roughly 6 million kids in the US or one in every twelve kids.
Since breathing is essential to survival, Asthma can significantly hinder daily activities. It can make walking outside seem quite challenging. It results in not only doctor appointments, trips to the ER, and hospitalization but also missed classes, parent job obligations, events, and activities.
The excellent thing is that Asthma can be effectively treated. An asthmatic child can live a healthy, regular life if parents, kids, and doctors collaborate. Here is what you should know:
How to know if your child is asthmatic
Although wheezing is undoubtedly a sign of Asthma, a dry, persistent cough may also be a sign, especially if it occurs at night. Keep an eye out for symptoms that a child is having trouble breathing. Skin pulling inward between, above, or below the ribs is one symptom. Another indication of this is having trouble speaking in complex sentences.
Your child may be having exercise-induced Asthma. If the child avoids exercising, you should talk to them to know why.
Beware of your child’s triggers
There are various asthma triggers like allergies, which can include pet dander, dust mites or mold, and outside allergens such as pollen. Weather changes especially cold weather, and going into the cold can trigger Asthma in children.
Also, Asthma can be triggered by exercise, with some children struggling even with mild exercise and others having problems with vigorous exercise. Upper respiratory infections cu as the common cold and COVID can as well trigger Asthma.
Asthma medications for your child
There are different kinds of medications which include bronchodilators which help open airways and are available in metered-dose inhalers. You can also use inhaled steroids which reduce inflammation in the lungs, making them less likely to react to triggers. Injected or oral steroids are preferable when there is a bad asthma attack. Allergy medications like cetirizine, loratadine, and montelukast can be useful when an allergy is a trigger.
