Asthma is the leading cause of chronic illness in children. It affects as many as 10%-12% of children in the U.S. and, for unknown reasons, is steadily increasing. It can begin at any age, but most children have their first symptoms by age 5.
What Makes a Child More Likely to Develop Asthma?
There are many risk factors for developing childhood asthma. These include:
* Presence of allergies
* Family history of asthma and/or allergies
* Frequent respiratory infections
* Low birth weight
* Exposure to tobacco smoke before and/or after birth
* Being male
* Being black
* Being raised in a low-income environment
Why Are More Children Getting Asthma?
No one really knows why more and more children are developing asthma. Some experts suggest that children are being exposed to more and more allergens such as dust, air pollution, and second-hand smoke. These factors all are triggers of asthma. Others suspect that children are not exposed to enough childhood illnesses to build up their immune system. It appears that a disorder of the immune system where the body fails to make enough protective antibodies may play a role in causing asthma.
And still others suggest that decreasing rates of breastfeeding have prevented important substances of the immune system from being passed on to babies.
How Can I Tell If My Child Has Asthma?
Signs and symptoms to look for include:
* Frequent coughing spells, which may occur during play, at night, or while laughing. It is important to know that cough may be the only symptom present.
* Less energy during play
* Rapid breathing
* Complaint of chest tightness or chest "hurting"
* Whistling sound (wheezing) when breathing in or out
* See-saw motions (retractions) in the chest from labored breathing
* Shortness of breath, loss of breath
* Tightened neck and chest muscles
* Feelings of weakness or tiredness
Keep in mind that not all children have the same asthma symptoms, and these symptoms can vary from asthma episode to the next episode in the same child. Also note that not all wheezing or coughing is caused by asthma.
In kids under 5 years of age, the most common cause of asthma-like symptoms is upper respiratory viral infections such as the common cold.
If your child has problem breathing, take him or her to the doctor immediately for an evaluation.
How Is Asthma Diagnosed In Children?
Asthma is often difficult to diagnose in infants. However, in older children the disease can often be diagnosed based on your child's medical history, symptoms, and physical exam.
* Medical history and symptom description. Your child's doctor will be interested in any history of breathing problems you or your child may have had, as well as a family history of asthma, allergies, a skin condition called eczema, or other lung disease. It is important that you describe your child's symptoms -- cough, wheezing, shortness of breath, chest pain or tightness -- in detail, including when and how often these symptoms have been occurring.
* Physical exam. During the physical examination, the doctor will listen to your child's heart and lungs.
* Tests. Many children will also have a chest X-ray and pulmonary function tests. Also called lung function tests, these tests measure the amount of air in the lungs and how fast it can be exhaled. The results help the doctor determine how severe the asthma is. Generally, children younger than 5 are unable to perform pulmonary function tests. Thus doctors rely heavily on history, symptoms and examination in making the diagnosis.
Other tests may also be ordered to help identify particular asthma triggers. These tests may include allergy skin testing, blood tests and X-rays to determine if sinus infections or gastroesophageal reflux disease (a gastrointestinal condition that causes reflux of acid stomach contents into the esophagus or even into the lungs) is complicating asthma.
WebMD Medical Reference
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Asthma in Children: Symptoms and Risk Factors
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Allergies And Asthma
Cause Of Asthma
by Patricia Davis
Asthma is a chronic lung affliction that is characterized by breathing difficulties. People who suffer from asthma have extra sensitive or hyper-responsive airways. In the course of an asthma attack, the airways suffer irritation and react by narrowing and constricting, resulting in increased resistance to airflow, and obstruction of the flow of air flow through the air passages to and from the lungs. The cause of the inflammation which underlying most asthma in younger sufferers is the result of one or more allergies. Compared to people in less affluent rural parts of the world, a greater number of people in western countries are affected by allergies. Additionally, allergy rates are on the rise. This is a concerning fact, particularly when allergies affect young children.
Read more..............
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Early Warning Signs Of Deteriorating Asthma
By Ashi Jas
The people who suffer with asthma generally exhibit a lot of different signs that are indicative of their having an attack. The other symptoms are also there to see like weight loss in children and elderly patients, loss of appetite, general feeling of exhaustion and lethargy, wheezing, frequent coughs and colds and many more such external symptoms.
Normally asthma is not considered to be very serious by the doctors perhaps because of the frequency with which the human population suffers with it. But the possibility that it can turn fatal also leaves us with no option but to identify the early warning signs so that they can be detected early and dealt with efficacy.
Like all other diseases an asthmatic attack also shows several signs before attacking a person in its full fury. The problem lies with the fact that these signs are so often confused with so many other diseases. It is important to understand them to reduce the impact of a full blown attack. Also if the attack has to be avoided altogether these early warning signs have to be taken seriously. All this is well understood by any reasonable person. Then why is it so that so many people fall prey to asthma and they do not even realize it in time?
The main reason attributed to this is that asthma is a disease that can attack anyone at any time. It is true that certain hereditary factors do play an important role in the manifestation of the disease but still many people fall prey to the disease without even having any known history of the disease. So understanding the fact that actually all the people in this world can be potentially at risk is the most important key factor here.
Once when someone knows that he has developed the disease certain precautions can make him lead a near normal life without many complications. The importance of proper treatment cannot be ruled out at all but with proper treatment and certain guidelines for a healthy lifestyle lot of control can be obtained over the frequency and severity of the attacks, most of the times asthma patients develop minor complications only which can be very easily managed with following the usual guidelines and treatments.
But when during the attacks a person starts to feel serious difficulty in breathing or he feels that the level of difficulty has risen while breathing he should immediately pay attention to the warning signs that the body is trying to offer. This is serious matter because many-a-times the patients tend to neglect this till they reach a stage where the attacks can no longer be controlled with normal medications and other precautions. Sometimes the attacks become so serious that the patient needs to be admitted in acute emergency care before they can be controlled. Sometimes admittance to the intensive care unit remains to the only option.
It is a well recognized fact that a human being cannot survive without oxygen for more than just a few minutes. If the difficulty in breathing and feeling of choking persist during an asthma attack for longer durations of time a person may even suffocate to death. Although the incidents of fatality are not very common, still the possibility cannot be ruled out. Each and every sufferer of asthma always has a dagger hanging over his head of this kind of thing happening to him. The good thing is that this is a condition that can be easily avoided if the mind remains open for identifying some early warning signs which go about indicating the worsening of the condition. These can be described as:
1. Cough or wheezing that does not respond to medications: This is a situation that needs serious attention. This is a sure sign of the asthmatic condition of the patient becoming serious. A persistent cough or wheezing may be resultant of excessive work related pressures or may be a resultant of some allergic reactions. But when the medications start to fail it should be taken as an early warning bell. Sometimes the wheezing is so much that the person has difficulty in speaking too.
2. Increased need for inhalers: When the frequency of use of inhalers is noticeably increased it is a sign of worsening of the situations. Some people get addicted to the inhalers and tend to use them more often without even serious difficulty. This situation therefore needs to be identified with discretion.
3. Constant wheezing during sleep: When there is constant noticeable wheezing during sleep it is indicative of worsening of the disease.
4. Persistent high fever or even low grade fever: When there is persistence of fever which either remains unresponsive to the medication or comes back after the effect of medication wears off, it may be an early warning sign of condition deteriorating.
5. Severe pain in the neck or chest: When after just a bit of exertion there seems to be pain in the neck and chest the condition should be reported and checked immediately.
6. Persistent vomiting: This may be because of many reasons but it should not go unchecked.
7. Cyanosis: This is indicative of blue colour of the lips and hands. It is mainly an indication of asthma becoming worse.
Source: EzineArticles.Com
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Allergic Asthma
allergy asthma
Allergic (extrinsic) asthma is characterized by symptoms that are triggered by an allergic reaction. Allergic asthma is airway obstruction and inflammation that is partially reversible with medication. Allergic asthma is the most common form of asthma, affecting over 50% of the 20 million asthma sufferers. Many of the symptoms of allergic and non-allergic asthma are the same (coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath or rapid breathing, and chest tightness). However, allergic asthma is triggered by inhaled allergens such as dust mite allergen, pet dander, pollen, mold, etc. resulting in asthma symptoms.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Typical symptoms and signs of asthma
The symptoms of asthma vary from person to person and in any individual from time to time. It is important to remember that many of these symptoms can be subtle and similar to those seen in other conditions. All of the symptoms mentioned below can be present in other respiratory, and sometimes, in heart conditions. This potential confusion makes identifying the settings in which the symptoms occur and diagnostic testing very important in recognizing this disorder.
The Four Major Recognized Symptoms:
- Shortness of breath - especially with exertion or at night
- Wheezing - a whistling or hissing sound when breathing out
- Coughing - may be chronic; usually worse at night and early morning; and may occur after exercise or when exposed to cold, dry air
- Chest tightness - may occur with or without the above symptoms
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