The 7-Step Plan to Manage Childhood Asthma SEC14 WK:#6: "Welcome!"
One of the most prevalent chronic diseases that affect children is asthma. Approximately nine million children in the United States have been identified as having asthma. It is estimated that up to ten percent of youngsters in Europe are also experiencing symptoms of asthma. Regrettably, the parents of these youngsters are frequently inadequately informed on the numerous methods that may be utilised to treat asthma in children.
If you have any reason to believe that your child suffers from asthma, the first thing you should do is get a proper diagnosis. It is important to keep in mind, however, that the symptoms might change from one episode to the next, and that not all wheezing and coughing can be attributed to asthma. In children less than five years old, symptoms that are similar to asthma are often caused by an infection of the airways caused by a virus or bacterium. Without a doubt, it is in your best interest to take your child to the doctor if they are having trouble breathing, regardless of the reason for their symptoms.
Before the age of five, over eighty percent of children who develop asthma do so during their childhood. Research has shown that children who are raised in rural settings had reduced rates of asthma compared to children who are raised in urban areas. This is especially true for children who spend their first five years of life in a rural environment. When it comes to children who live in inner cities, the allergen that is caused by cockroaches appears to exacerbate asthma symptoms more than dust mites or asthma caused by pets. Therefore, ensuring that normal cleaning and maintenance routines are followed in order to prevent cockroaches from entering the home is an additional vital step in the process of treating your child's asthma. It has been shown that high-rise residences have the greatest levels of allergies that are caused by cockroaches.
The inhalation of smoke is yet another risk that has been associated with the development of asthma in children or adolescents. According to the findings of a research conducted in Norway, about ten percent of adult asthma sufferers had been exposed to passive smoking when they were younger. Because of this, another precaution that you should take at home is to make sure that your child is not exposed to tobacco smoke whatsoever.
Your next step, in the event that your physician suggests that your kid take medication, is to actively urge your child to take the prescription. One of the most common reasons for children to go to the emergency department is because they have asthma. However, studies have shown that up to half of these hospitalisations might be prevented if children, particularly adolescents, adhered to their medication schedules correctly, avoided the things that trigger their asthma, and went to the doctor on a regular basis.
It is possible that children are not taking their medication as frequently as they should be because they are afraid of the adverse effects or the possibility of becoming dependent on it, or because they have the perception that it is uncool to be seen taking medication. It is possible that children and their parents are convinced by the presence of intermittent asthma symptoms that it is not necessary to take medication if there are no symptoms manifesting themselves. Clearly, this is an error. The lungs of an asthmatic will be irritated to some degree even when there are no evident symptoms present within the individual.
It is possible that certain individuals are born with a predisposition to asthma, as evidenced by the fact that the illness appears to run in families that have a history of asthma or allergies. You could be under the impression that the problem was there from birth and that there is nothing you can do about it. Nevertheless, the environment in which a kid is raised can also play a significant effect. It has been established via research that if a child is exposed to possible allergens such as pollen and pets during the first six months of their life, it may lessen the likelihood that they will acquire asthma later on. When exposed to the substance beyond the age of six months, however, the reverse effect occurs. Additionally, it appears that the likelihood of acquiring asthma is decreased when one is born into a household that already consists of siblings.
Compared to adults, it is well knowledge that children are more prone to experiencing allergic reactions and virus infections. Identifying the triggers for your child's asthma and teaching them how to detect and avoid those triggers is a key step in the process of treating your child's asthma. Ibuprofen is one of the potential triggers, and statistics show that more than 100,000 youngsters are prone to asthma symptoms brought on by the medicine.
The summer break is typically when children spend more time outside than during the school year. In the event that your child's asthma is triggered by pollen or high levels of ozone, you need to keep a close eye on them. The most prevalent cause of asthma in children is involvement in physical activity. Your kid should be taught to take medicine if it is required, to perform warm-up activities before engaging in severe activity, and to perform wind-down exercises after the activity.
Make sure that people in charge of your child's asthma management and action plans are aware of your kid's asthma management and action plans if your child is going to be away at camp during the vacation. There are camps in both the United States and Canada that are particularly created for those who suffer with asthma.
In the event of an asthma attack, it is of the utmost importance to have a documented action plan that outlines not only what medication to take and when to take it, but also how to react to the situation. When it is difficult for your child to breathe, it is crucial to have the important data written down. You or your child may not remember what to do at that moment, therefore it is important to have the details written down.
During an attack, it is essential that both you and your kid maintain your composure, since panic can cause breathing issues that are even more problematic. It is possible that the natural inclination of a parent is to hug their child, yet doing so would tighten the chest even harder.
In the event that your kid has been diagnosed with asthma, the next step is to tell their school. Every school need to make asthma medicine available to students, and some schools even permit students to bring their asthma medication with them and self-administer it on the condition that specific conditions be satisfied.
Since we are discussing schools, I would like to bring out a trigger for asthma in children that is frequently disregarded. Studies have shown that children who ride school buses are exposed to five to fifteen times as much asthma-triggering particle inside the buses as they are outdoors. School buses are important producers of pollution, and studies have shown that this exposure is much higher. It was just recently that the state of New Jersey established a law that mandates the modification of municipal vehicles and school buses in order to reduce emissions from their tailpipes. Is the same thing happening in your state?
Just keep in mind that you need to educate yourself if you have been diagnosed with asthma. As far as the specialists are concerned, the most effective treatment is information. In order to prevent the condition from having a negative impact on the life of your kid, you need to be aware of how to monitor and treat asthma. In order to do this, you will need to be aware of how to properly administer medications, whether or not your kid's attacks are caused by allergens and, if they are, how to significantly minimise their exposure to them, and the adjustments in lifestyle that will assist your child in avoiding attacks.
Asthma is a condition that affects a large number of people, yet there are still a lot of misconceptions about it. The assumption that the disease would improve every seven years or even disappear entirely is one of the most harmful of these for youngsters. It is also one of the most common. We regret to inform you that any apparent improvement is most likely the result of hormonal changes that occur as the immune system of the kid develops. In the absence of proper management, the underlying problem will not disappear, and this might result in long-term harm to the lungs.