3 Steps To Helping Your Asthmatic Child

The first and most important step to take is to decide to take charge of your child's asthma. Parents of asthmatic children suffer a range of contradictory feelings. Strongest is the natural concern for their child. Are you giving them the best treatment, or is there something you have not thought of or are unaware of? Then there are the doubts about being over or under protective. If they have non-asthmatic siblings do you treat all of your children the same? Perhaps there is some guilt that asthma may have been inherited and it is your fault your child has the condition.

Let's take charge of the situation and dispel this myth straight away. You have not willed it onto your child. It is nobody's fault or a judgement of some sort any more than an inherited ability that makes someone more likely to be good at sports or singing. You can also take charge by educating yourself about the condition. Do not waste time worrying if there are better treatments or medications for your child. Find out. Use the medical profession, library and internet. The best prescription is knowledge.

The next step is to be aware of your child's health. One problem with having an ill child is their inability to clearly explain how they feel. An asthmatic child may not come to you in the middle of the night and mention difficulty breathing, or persistent coughing. Instead they may leave their condition to worsen until their lungs have expanded enough to start pressing on their stomach. At this point they may mention they feel sick.

Some children just take a rest when their breathing becomes difficult and never mention they feel out of breath.

If you suspect your child may have asthma you probably know the classic signs to look for: coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, changes in color of skin, nails, or lips, and a tightness of the chest. But also be aware there are other signs that suggest there may be a problem: nausea, lethargy, and low appetite. Also notice if your child has to hunch forward as they exhale if they are feeling short of breath.

If possible take a look at your child's breathing as they sleep. This will enable you to see how they breathe when they are relaxed. Then you will be able to tell when their breathing becomes labored.

Next, ensure your child takes any inhaled medication properly. Many asthma medications are delivered by inhalers and it is often difficult for a child to understand and perform the necessary sequence of breaths to take these medicines. How long did your child take to learn to blow their nose properly? I know of one child who insisted they were holding their breath while they kept their lips firmly together as they breathed through their nose. Many children feel they cannot hold their breath for the required interval and end up dramatically gasping for air. If your asthmatic child has to take medicines through a metered dose inhaler it is often best to use it with a spacer or aero-chamber.

You need to be prepared for an asthma attack. Know what to do. If your child suffers an asthma attack keep calm and resist the urge to cuddle your child. Though this is perfectly natural it will constrict their chest and make it harder for them to breathe.

If you are driving your child to ER or a physician while they are having an asthma attack you must still buckle them into their child seat. Do not hold your child. Imagine what would happen if there was an accident.

To deal with asthma effectively you have to understand the disease and understand your child. You may be tempted to let your doctor make all the decisions, but there is so much more you can do than just administer medication. You can improve the condition by making changes to the home environment, to your child's diet, to how they breathe, and to the exercise they take. The more you know about asthma the more effectively you can control it. asthma, childhood asthma, asthmatic, Kane

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7 Steps To Control Childhood Asthma

Asthma is the most common chronic (long-term) childhood disease. In America about nine million children are diagnosed with asthma. Up to ten per cent of children in Europe are also suffering from asthma symptoms. Unfortunately parents of these children are often uninformed about the various ways to control childhood asthma.

If you suspect your child has asthma the first priority is correct diagnosis. However, be aware that symptoms can vary from episode to episode and not all wheezing and coughing is caused by asthma. Asthma-like symptoms in children younger than five are usually due to a virus or bacterial infection of the airways. However if your child is experiencing breathing difficulties it is best to get them to a doctor whatever the cause.

About eighty per cent of children who develop asthma do so before the age of five. Studies show that children living in rural areas have lower rates of asthma than those who live in cities, particularly if they spent their first five years in a rural area. For children living in inner cities the cockroach allergen seems to worsen asthma symptoms more than dust mite or pet allergens. Therefore another important step in the control of your child's asthma is to ensure that general cleaning and maintenance routines are followed to ensure cockroaches are not encouraged into the home. Levels of cockroach allergens have been found to be highest in high-rise apartments.

Another factor that has been linked to the development of asthma in children is exposure to smoke. A study in Norway showed that almost ten per cent of adult asthma patients had experienced passive smoking during early childhood. Therefore another step to take at home is to ensure that your child is not exposed to tobacco smoke.

If your doctor recommends the use of medication the next step is to encourage your child to take the medicine. Asthma is one of the main causes for emergency room visits by children. Yet studies have shown that up to half of these hospitalizations may be preventable if children, particularly teenagers, followed their medication schedule correctly, avoided their asthma triggers and made regular visits to the doctor.

Perhaps fear of side effects or dependency, or an impression that it is uncool to be seen taking medicines is preventing children taking their medication as regularly as they should. Perhaps intermittent asthma symptoms persuade children and their parents that it is not important to take medication if there are no symptoms. This is a mistake. Even when there are no obvious symptoms an asthmatic’s lungs will be inflamed to some degree.

The fact that the condition seems to run in families with a history of asthma or allergies suggests that certain people are born with a predisposition to asthma. Some may believe you are born with the condition and there is nothing you can do. However a child’s environment can also play an important role. Studies have found that exposure to potential allergens like pets and pollen in the first six months of life may reduce the chance of developing asthma later. However exposure beyond six months of age has the opposite effect. Being born into a family that already has siblings also seems to reduce the chance of developing asthma.

It is known that children are more susceptible to viral and allergic triggers than adults. An important step in controlling your child's asthma is identifying the triggers and teaching your child how to recognize their asthma triggers and avoid them. One possible trigger is ibuprofen, with over 100,000 children susceptible to asthma symptoms brought on by the drug.

Children tend to spend more time outside during the summer vacation. If pollen or high levels of ozone trigger your child’s asthma you need to monitor these. Physical exercise is a common trigger of childhood asthma. Teach your child to take medication if necessary, and do warm up exercises before strenuous activity and wind down exercises after.

If your child is going away to camp during the vacation 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. and Canada.

It is essential to have a written action plan that clearly states what medication to take and when, as well as how to respond to an asthma attack. You or your child may not remember what to do at a time when it may be difficult for them to breathe, so it is essential to have the important details in writing.

It is important you and your child remain calm during an attack as panic can produce more breathing difficulties. A parent’s instinct may be to cuddle their child, but that would constrict the chest further.

If asthma is diagnosed your next step is to inform your child’s school. Every school should allow access to asthma medication and some allow children to carry and self-administer their asthma medication if certain requirements are met.

Whilst we’re talking about schools here’s one often overlooked childhood asthma trigger. School buses are major sources of pollution, and studies show children who ride them are exposed to five to fifteen times as much asthma triggering particulates inside the buses compared to outside. 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 confirmed you need to educate yourself. According to the experts knowledge is the best prescription. To stop the disease affecting your child’s life you need to know how to monitor and manage asthma. This will mean knowing how to use medications correctly, whether your child’s attacks are triggered by allergens and if so how to reduce exposure to them, and the lifestyle changes that will help your child prevent attacks.

Despite being a widespread disease there are still plenty of myths about asthma. One of the most damaging of these for children is the belief that the condition will improve every seven years or can even disappear completely. Unfortunately, any apparent improvement is probably due to hormonal changes as the child’s immune system matures. The underlying condition does not go away and not managing it can lead to long-term lung damage. asthma, childhood asthma, child asthma, Kane

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