| How to Help Your Child With Asthma One out of every 10 children in the United States has asthma. At Christian Liberty Academy the average is approximately one out of every 7 students this year. Asthma is one of the main reasons children miss school and are admitted to the hospital. The number of children with asthma has increased in the last 10 years. As recent news reports have shown, there has been a rise in the number of children who die from asthma as well. Asthma is a chronic disease of the passageways that carry air to the lungs. These airways become narrow and the linings become inflamed, irritated, and swollen. Children with asthma may be very sensitive to irritants such as viral infections, smoke (esp. cigarette), cold air, and particles or chemicals in the air. Asthma can also be caused by allergies to dust, animals, pollens, and molds. The inflammation and narrowing of the airways cause breathing to be labored, coughing, feelings of tightness in the chest, and shortness of breath. Cough may be the first and sometimes the only symptom of early asthma. Other symptoms are wheezing, fast breathing, difficult breathing that uses extra muscles from the neck, abdomen, and chest to help draw in air. Each person can have different symptoms. Need for medication varies from daily to just when symptoms appear. One way to prevent or decrease asthma symptoms is to know when your child isn't getting enough air into the lungs. You can measure the amount of air your chld can breathe in and out with the use of a simple device called a peak flow meter so that you can recognize if the airway is narrowing. The peak flow meter measures the amount of air flow in the airways or breathing tubes. The peak flow rate is the rate of air flow in the breathing tubes when a person inhales fully and blows the air out as quickly as possible. For the test to be useful, the person must be able to repeat the same flow rate at least three times on the same peak flow meter (there are many different kinds). Peak flow rates decrease when your child's asthma is getting worse or is out of control. Peak flow rates increase when the asthma treatment is working and the airways are opening up. The use of peak flow rate meassurements can help you to recognize when your child's airway is narrowing, so asthma treatment can be started early. Peak flow rates also will help you identify some of the "triggers" for your child's asthma, so they can be avoided. How can you tell if your child's asthma is getting worse? * Asthma symptoms such as cough, wheeze, chest tightness, shortness of breath occur more frequently and/or get worse * Large decreases in your child's peak flow rate occur * Asthma medications do not seem to help your child's cough or breathing problem * You frequently have to go to the doctor or ER for treatment of acute asthma * Your child is admitted to the hospital for asthma treatment * Your child is admitted to a hospital intensive care unit for treatment * Large changes in peak flow rate measurements occure (more than 20% change between morning & evening * Your child's asthma symptoms increase; symptoms occur more often at night & awaken the child from sleep * Your child's ashtma attacks last longer and do not easily improve with treatment * Special oral anti-inflammatory medications such as steroids are needed more often to control the asthma * Your child's asthma attacks become quite severe * Your child has panic attacks with severe confusion and anxiety with the asthma attacks It is important to work with your pediatrician to develop a plan of action that is specific to your child: * How to prevent or reduce asthma symptoms * How to recognize asthma symptoms, expecially symptoms of worsening asthma * How to recognize what triggers your child's asthma so you can reduce asthma attacks * What treatment should be administered first and what to do if asthma becomes worse * What to do in an emergency Prevention and early treatment may help reduce the number of days your child misses school or is hospitalized. |
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