What You Need To Know About Your Childs Asthma
There are many things to think about and plan for when your child has asthma. It is important to learn as much as you can about the condition. Your doctor and pharmacist are there to help you. Talk to them about any concerns you may have about your childs asthma.;To manage your childs asthma effectively, it is important to know:;
- the pattern of their asthma;
- their;asthma medications what they do and how to help your child take them properly;
- what to do if they have an asthma attack know and follow;asthma first aid.;
Make sure you have an updated written;asthma;action;plan and understand how to use it.;
Learn To Recognize The Emergency
It may seem obvious, but recognizing the severity of your asthma attack is an important step in getting things under control quickly and easily. Many asthmatics may figure they can ride out the discomfort, or are too shy to ask or demand help from those around them.
However, if you have any of the following symptoms, its time to take the episode seriously:
- Youre too out of breath to finish a sentence, eat, or walk
- Your inhaler isnt helping
- The wheezing and tightness in your chest is getting worse
- Your breathing is speeding up and its difficult to control
- Your lips are beginning to turn blue
Sometimes a bit of breathlessness can make you very anxious, which will make your breathing worse and likely frighten you a fair bit. The most important thing to do is stay calm the more anxious you get, the worse it will be for your airways.
Some slow, controlled breathing and a bit of comforting visualization can bring your respiration back to a reasonable range and distract your mind from negative thoughts. Rest assured that there are plenty of people who are able to help you get through the attack, and the ambulance is only a call away, if it should come to that.
What Happens During An Asthma Episode
During normal breathing, the airways to the lungs are fully open. This allows air to move in and out of the lungs freely. Asthma causes the airways to change in the following ways:
These changes narrow the airways. Breathing becomes difficult and stressful, like trying to breathe through a straw stuffed with cotton.
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How Is Asthma Diagnosed
Your primary care doctor will diagnose asthma based on your medical and family histories, a physical exam, and test results.
Your doctor also will figure out the severity of your asthmathat is, whether it’s intermittent, mild, moderate, or severe. The level of severity will determine what treatment you’ll start on.
You may need to see an asthma specialist if:
- You need special tests to help diagnose asthma
- You’ve had a life-threatening asthma attack
- You need more than one kind of medicine or higher doses of medicine to control your asthma, or if you have overall problems getting your asthma well controlled
- You’re thinking about getting allergy treatments
Will It Ever Go Away
Asthma has a variable course. Many children with asthma see it improve or appear to go away as they get older. This can happen any time in childhood or adolescence. If asthma was only intermittent in nature and triggered by viral respiratory infections , there is an excellent likelihood that asthma will be much less of a problem as the child gets older. Sometimes the nature of the asthma changes with age. A young child may have asthma initially only from viral infections. As the child ages, asthma may occur less from viral infections , but inhalant allergy may become an important contributor to the asthma. If asthma persists into adult life, or returns later in adult life after a period of remission, persisting asthmatic symptoms may not be readily explainable by any environmental factors.
Whatever the course, however, asthma is virtually always controllable with acceptably safe measures. While ongoing medical evaluation of asthma should assess whether the disease is still active and continues to need treatment, it is not wise to withhold treatment in the hope that asthma will go away by itself. That may indeed occur, but it may not, and there can be considerable avoidable suffering and disability in the interim.
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What To Do In An Asthma Attach
This is an emergency – act now.
1. Stay calm. Sit up straight – do not lie down.
2. Take slow steady breaths.
3. Take one puff of your reliever inhaler every minute.
Use a spacer if available.
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; People over 6 years can take up to 10 puffs in 10 minutes.
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; Children under 6 can take up to 6 puffs in 10 minutes.
4. Call 112 or 999 if your symptoms do not improve after 10 minutes.
5 Repeat step 3 if an ambulance has not arrived in 10 minutes.
Remember if someone is having an asthma attack:
Do not leave them on their own.
Extra puffs of reliever inhaler are safe.
If you are admitted to hospital or an accident and emergency department because of your asthma, take details of your treatment with you. Bring your asthma management plan if you have one to the hospital. You should also make an appointment with your doctor or nurse after you are discharged from hospital, so that you can review your asthma treatment to avoid the situation arising again.
Diagnosis Of Asthma In Children
Diagnosing asthma;in children younger than;5;years can be difficult because;children cough or wheeze;for many different reasons.;Take your child to the doctor if:;
- the wheezing happens more than once with or without an illness;
- constant coughing or bouts of coughing become worse at night;
- you are concerned about any breathing problems in your child.;
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Tips For When You Dont Have An Inhaler
Mild to moderate asthma attacks can occur at inopportune times. You may be able to manage your asthma more effectively with these tips. If these dont work CALL AN AMBULANCE.
How Do You Completely Cure Asthma
Long-term control medications such as inhaled corticosteroids are the most important medications used to keep asthma under control. These preventive medications treat the airway inflammation that leads to asthma symptoms. Used on a daily basis, these medications can reduce or eliminate asthma flare-ups.
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After An Asthma Attack
You should see a GP or asthma nurse within 48 hours of leaving hospital, or ideally on the same day if you did not need hospital treatment.
About 1 in 6 people treated in hospital for an asthma attack need hospital care again within 2 weeks, so it’s important to discuss how you can reduce your risk of future attacks.
Talk to a doctor or nurse about any changes that may need to be made to manage your condition safely.
For example, the dose of your treatment may need to be adjusted or you may need to be shown how to use your inhaler correctly.
Consider Immunotherapy Or Allergy Shots
If you have allergic asthma, immunotherapy , may help. These shots consist of small amounts of the substances youre allergic to, with gradual increases over the course of several months .
Allergy shots may be especially helpful for children with seasonal allergies, and it can help them build up immunity so they dont experience as severe of symptoms as adults.
However, its still possible for other triggers to cause asthma symptoms despite taking allergy shots.
Theres no cure for asthma. Once you have this chronic condition, you may have asthma symptoms for life. However, the severity of your symptoms varies based on:
- genetics
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People Who Develop Asthma Later In Life Are Also Less Likely To Experience Remission
The age of asthma onset may also be a factor. One old, large 1999 study found that middle-aged and elderly adults who developed asthma later in life were less likely to experience remission.
Researchers in the study above determined that of 6,610 people, only 6 percent reportedly entered remission within 10 years.
Who Is At Risk For Asthma
Asthma affects people of all ages, but it most often starts during childhood. In the United States, more than 22 million people are known to have asthma. Nearly 6 million of these people are children.
Young children who often wheeze and have respiratory infectionsas well as certain other risk factorsare at highest risk of developing asthma that continues beyond 6 years of age. The other risk factors include having allergies, eczema , or parents who have asthma.
Among children, more boys have asthma than girls. But among adults, more women have the disease than men. It’s not clear whether or how sex and sex hormones play a role in causing asthma.
Most, but not all, people who have asthma have allergies.
Some people develop asthma because of contact with certain chemical irritants or industrial dusts in the workplace. This type of asthma is called occupational asthma.
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What Is An Asthma Attack
An asthma attack is a condition in which the lining of the airways swells. The muscles around the airways tighten and make the airways narrower. All of these changes in the lungs block the adequate flow of air, making it hard to breathe. Asthma “attack” or episode is a time of increased;asthma symptoms. The symptoms can be;mild;or;severe. Anyone can have a severe attack, even those with mild asthma. The attack can start suddenly or slowly. Sometimes, a mild attack may seem to go away but will come back a few hours later, and the second attack will be much worse than the first. Severe asthma symptoms need medical care immediately.
How To Remove An Attack Of Suffocation At Home
Not always at hand is the necessary medication, so to take off the attack of choking at home can be with the availability of home remedies. So, for example, the state is significantly improved if:
- make a warm bath. Dip the patient’s legs into the pelvis with water and mustard for 10-15 minutes . You can just put a mustard plaster on the calves of your legs and chest;
- drink a glass of warm milk with the addition of 1 teaspoon of soda. Also good is the tincture of valerian with the addition of a small amount of soda. These two components dilute sputum, breathing becomes easier. A good warm drink helps;
- set fire to dry nettles, mother-and-stepmother, wormwood and inhale the smoke until you feel relief. This recipe removes the most severe attacks of suffocation. Decoctions of herbs during seizures are not recommended, since in some cases they can aggravate an attack due to the concentration in the blood of an antiasthmatic agent.
- make a can of massage. Back of the patient should be smeared with vaseline, put the jar on the lungs and slowly rotate it. The duration of the massage is 1-2 minutes on each side.
If the attack continues for more than one day, you should seek help from a doctor, as there may be irreversible changes in the bronchi, lungs, heart, which leads to an attack of suffocation and to whom. Completely stop the attack can only a doctor.
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How Can Asthma Be Prevented
You cant prevent asthma. However, you can take steps to control the disease and prevent its symptoms. For example:
- Learn about your asthma and ways to control it.
- Follow your written asthma action plan.
- Use medicines as your doctor prescribes.
- Identify and try to avoid things that make your asthma worse . However, one trigger you should not avoid is physical activity. Physical activity is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Talk with your doctor about medicines that can help you stay active.
- Keep track of your asthma symptoms and level of control.
- Get regular checkups for your asthma.
For more details about how to prevent asthma symptoms and attacks, go to “How Is Asthma Treated and Controlled?”
Asthma Patterns In Children
Every childs asthma is different. Some children have mild, occasional episodes of asthma or only show symptoms after;exercising, or when they have a;cold. Some experience daily symptoms, while others have symptoms continuously, which limit their level of activity.;
Each pattern of asthma requires a different treatment approach. It is important to remember that children can still have a;severe and even life-threatening attack, even if they generally have mild or occasional asthma.;
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Vaping And Lung Damage
- Talk with your teen about the dangers of vaping.
- Vaping can cause severe lung damage. It can become permanent.
- Vaping can even cause death .
- Vaping tobacco also causes nicotine addiction.
- For these reasons, the legal age to purchase vaping products is 21 in the US.
- Encourage your teen to not start vaping or to give it up.
- Warning: home-made or street-purchased vaping solutions are the most dangerous.
Asthma Treatment For Special Groups
The treatments described above generally apply to all people who have asthma. However, some aspects of treatment differ for people in certain age groups and those who have special needs.
Children
It’s hard to diagnose asthma in children younger than 5 years. Thus, it’s hard to know whether young children who wheeze or have other asthma symptoms will benefit from long-term control medicines.
Doctors will treat infants and young children who have asthma symptoms with long-term control medicines if, after assessing a child, they feel that the symptoms are persistent and likely to continue after 6 years of age.
Inhaled corticosteroids are the preferred treatment for young children. Montelukast and cromolyn are other options. Treatment might be given for a trial period of 1;month to 6 weeks. Treatment usually is stopped if benefits aren’t seen during that time and the doctor and parents are confident the medicine was used properly.
Inhaled corticosteroids can possibly slow the growth of children of all ages. Slowed growth usually is apparent in the first several months of treatment, is generally small, and doesn’t get worse over time. Poorly controlled asthma also may reduce a child’s growth rate.
Many experts think the benefits of inhaled corticosteroids for children who need them to control their asthma far outweigh the risk of slowed growth.
Older Adults
Be sure to tell your doctor about all of the medicines you take, including over-the-counter medicines.
Pregnant Women
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Keep A Diary Of Your Childs Symptoms
Keep a diary of symptoms to discuss with your doctor. The diary could include:;
- a video or audio recording of the wheezing you could use your mobile phone;
- when the symptoms occur such as during the day or worse at night;
- how bad the symptoms are and how often they happen;
- how long the symptoms remain and whether they change with time;
- whether the symptoms are worse after exercise, playing or after an infection ;
- whether the symptoms are worse after exposure to animals, pollens or mould.;
Will Asthma Symptoms Return After Remission
One characteristic of asthma is inflammation, which changes the way your lungs function. Even if your asthma improves, its important to remain vigilant againstyour triggers.
According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, colds and allergies are the most common triggers especially in children.
Its possible to experience improved asthma for a long period of time, and then for your symptoms to return during allergy season or if you get sick.
Other possible asthma triggers are:
- cigarette smoke
Theres also a greater chance that your symptoms will return if you have:
- a personal or family history of asthma
- allergies
- eczema
Smoking or living with someone who does can also increase your risk of developing returning asthma symptoms.
You may not be able to entirely prevent your asthma symptoms from returning, but managing and treating your condition can help reduce their recurrence. Avoiding your triggers is one way you can help prevent asthma flare-ups.
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When Should Rescue Treatments Be Used
One of the common failures in acute treatment of migraine is the lack of rescue treatments. A rescue treatment is different than the typical medicine you use to abort a migraine. Most often, patients are prescribed a triptan, NSAID, or ergot-derivative to abort a migraine attack. These are acute medications that can be used at the first sign of symptoms. When these treatments fail, it is appropriate to use a rescue treatment.
Research For Your Health
The NHLBI is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health the Nations biomedical;research;agency that makes important scientific discovery to improve health and save lives. We are committed to advancing science and translating discoveries into clinical practice to promote the prevention and treatment of heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders, including asthma. Learn about the current and future NHLBI efforts to improve health through research and scientific discovery.
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