In recent years, asthma in children has been encountered more and more, becoming a serious problem in all countries of the world. We all know general information about this disease, but still many questions remain unanswered. The basics are clear: asthma is a hereditary disease of the upper respiratory tract. It usually intensifies when exposed to dust, pollen, tobacco smoke, animal hair or stress. Asthma is incurable. The condition can be alleviated with the help of special inhalers. In the rest, a child suffering from asthma lives a full normal life. This concludes our knowledge of asthma. But this disease has many "pitfalls". And it is important to know the symptoms. After all, at an early stage, any ailment is treated easier. And there are a lot of ways of treatment in our time. This article describes everything you wanted to know about asthma in children.
What is asthma?
Asthma is a condition that affects the airways (bronchi) in the lungs. From time to time the airways narrow, this leads to typical symptoms. The degree of narrowing, and how long each episode lasts, can vary greatly. It depends on the age, the stage of the disease, the environment. Asthma can begin at any age, but most often begins in childhood. At least 1 in 10 children suffer from asthma, and among adults only 1 in 20 is sick. Asthma is a hereditary disease, but many people who suffer from it have no relatives with a similar diagnosis.
Symptoms of asthma in children.
Common symptoms are coughing and wheezing. You can also notice how the child suffocates, he has a feeling of tightness in his chest. Symptoms can vary from mild to severe in one and the same child at different times. Each episode can last only an hour or two, or persist for several days or weeks, if not treated.
Typical symptoms with a mild form of asthma.
You can constantly observe mild symptoms from time to time. For example, a soft wheeze and cough, if: the house is cold, the child has a cold, during the season of hay fever, when the child ran into. Children with mild asthma can cough every night, but more often coughs appear throughout the day.
Typical symptoms with a moderate form of asthma.
Without treatment: there is usually (episodically) shortness of breath and coughing from time to time. Sometimes the child suffocates. There may be long periods without symptoms. However, the child, as a rule, "wheeze" for a while in most days. The problem is usually worse at night, or in the morning. A child can wake up several nights in a row from a cough. Small children up to a year can not have characteristic symptoms. It can be difficult - to distinguish the difference between asthma and recurrent viral infections in the chest.
Typical symptoms in a severe asthma attack.
The voice becomes very hoarse, there is "stiffness" in the chest and shortness of breath. The child can be difficult to talk about. He begins to suffocate. Serious symptoms can develop suddenly, if previously the child had only mild or weak symptoms.
What causes asthma?
Asthma causes an inflammation of the respiratory tract. But why this inflammation occurs is not exactly known. Inflammation irritates muscles around the airways, and causes them to contract. This leads to a narrowing of the airways. It is then difficult for air to penetrate into and out of the lungs. This leads to wheezing and shortness of breath. In the bronchi, mucus accumulates, which causes coughing and further obstruction to air flow.
What can make a child worse with asthma.
Symptoms of asthma often occur without any apparent cause. However, some experts believe that the symptoms are caused or aggravated in certain situations. Things that can cause asthmatic symptoms include the following.
- Infections. Especially colds, coughs, and chest infections.
- Flower pollen and mold. The season of hay fever is a common time for the treatment of asthma.
- Exercise stress. However, sports and physical exercises are not contraindicated to a child with asthma! If necessary, you can give him an inhaler before training to prevent seizures.
- Some drugs. For example, 1 in 50 children with asthma are allergic to aspirin. Other medicines that can cause asthmatic symptoms include: anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and beta-blockers (propranolol, atenolol, or timolol). Also, beta-blockers are eye drops used to treat glaucoma.
- Cigarette smoke. All children deserve to live in a smoke-free home. Especially children with bronchial asthma.
- Pairs of paint, solvents and contaminants. Increased air pollution can be the cause of asthma, and it is becoming more common.
- Emotional stress. Asthma is not due to "nerves," but things like stress or nervous shock can cause seizures.
- An allergy to animals. Animals do not cause symptoms in most cases, but some people notice that their symptoms become worse when they are near certain animals.
- Ticks in the house dust. This is a tiny creature that lives in mattresses and dust around the house. If your child is allergic to this, his symptoms may worsen. It is impossible to get rid of the dust completely. Significantly reduce their number can be, but it takes a lot of time and effort, and includes: frequent wet cleaning, special covers for mattresses, removal of carpets, soft toys.
- Some food products. This happens very rarely.
Treatment of asthma. Inhalers.
Most people with asthma use inhalers. With their help, a small dose of the drug is delivered directly to the respiratory tract. The dose is sufficient to treat respiratory tract. However, the amount of the drug that falls into the rest of the body is negligible. So side effects are unlikely. There are different types of inhalers made by different companies.
The inhaler is an attenuator. He takes with him as needed to relieve the symptoms. The drug in this inhaler relaxes the muscles of the respiratory tract. This makes them wider, and the symptoms usually disappear quickly. These drugs are called "bronchodilators", as they expand the bronchi (respiratory tract). There are several different drugs-relievers. For example, salbutamol and terbutaline. They come in different brands, made by different companies. If your child's symptoms appear "from time to time", then using such an inhaler is what you need. However, if you need an inhaler three times a week or more to alleviate the symptoms, a preventor-inhaler is usually recommended.
The inhaler-preventer. He takes himself with him every day to prevent symptoms. The drug that is used in it is a steroid. Steroids are aimed at reducing inflammation in the airways. This takes 7-14 days, until the effect of the drug will come into full force. Thus, this inhaler will not give any immediate relief of the symptoms. However, after a week of treatment, the symptoms often disappear or their number is significantly reduced. Before reaching the maximum effect, it can take from four to six weeks. After that, you should not use the inhaler-reliever very often. And it is better not to use at all.
Long-acting inhaler. It can be offered by a doctor in addition to a steroid inhaler. It is necessary for a child if the symptoms are not completely controlled by a steroid inhaler. Preparations in these inhalers work up to 12 hours after taking each dose. They include salmeterol and formoterol. Some brands of inhalers contain, in addition, long-acting steroids.
Additional treatments for asthma.
A tablet for opening the airways.
Most people do not need pills, since inhalers tend to work well. However, in some cases, tablets (or in liquid form for children) are prescribed in addition to inhalers if the symptoms are not fully alleviated by them. Some young children are prescribed a liquid medication instead of an inhaler.
Steroid tablets.
A short course of steroids in tablets (eg, prednisone) is sometimes necessary to alleviate severe or prolonged asthma attacks. Steroid tablets are good for reducing inflammation in the airways. For example, if the child has suffered a cold or chest infections.
Some people are worried about taking steroid tablets. However, a short course of steroids in tablets (for a week or so) usually works very well, and is unlikely to cause side effects. Most of the side effects caused by steroid tablets are manifested if you give them to your child for a long time (more than a few months).
There is no universal way to treat asthma for everyone. However, about half of the children who develop asthma, part with this ailment before they become adults. While it is not known for certain how this happens, it is a fact. But even if asthma has not disappeared with age, modern methods of treatment make it possible to live with this ailment with an absolutely normal life. So, if your child has asthma, do not panic. Gather more information about what you wanted to know about asthma in children. This will help you to deal with this problem more easily.