01/17/2023 | News release | Distributed by Public on 01/17/2023 15:01
Asthma is the most common chronic disease of childhood, with about six million children between 3 and 17 years of age estimated to have the condition. While the number of asthma attacks in American children has been on the decline over the last 10 years, about half of children with asthma still have an asthma flare-up every year. Here's what to know about childhood asthma, including how to avoid and manage potential triggers.
Asthma is a persistent inflammatory condition in the tubes that carry air to the lungs. Those with asthma have airways that are narrow, irritated, and inflamed, even when typical asthma symptoms aren't present. Because of this chronic smoldering inflammation, airways are oversensitive and can easily spasm or become blocked when triggered.
While asthma symptoms vary, they often include coughing, wheezing, and difficulty breathing. If your child is experiencing these symptoms, their provider can help uncover if asthma is the culprit. Providers will ask questions about how often your child experiences illnesses, if their daily activity or sleeping is affected by symptoms, whether they cough in their sleep, and if there is a family history of asthma or other respiratory conditions.
Signs that your child is experiencing chronic inflammation in the lungs includes wheezing with physical exertion, coughing persistently in their sleep, prolonged cough for weeks following every viral cold, and a tendency to have wheezing with allergies or upper respiratory tract illnesses.
An "asthma attack" refers to the sudden spasm and acute tightening of all of the airways due to the immune system's over-activation to a trigger. This tightening makes it hard to get air into the lungs, but even harder to fully exhale the air out of the lungs. This causes the child to feel their chest is "tight," and the air that is moving whistles through the tiny swollen airways causing the characteristic wheezing sound. To compensate, a child might frequently cough short dry coughs or breathe faster and more shallowly than normal. These symptoms should be your parental trigger to give your child's rescue medication and get your child to medical attention right away.
If your child is old enough, they may also be tested for asthma using an in-office test called spirometry to assess their lung function (typically for children ages 7 and older). For this test, your child will breathe into a device that determines whether there is an airway limitation caused by inflammation. If necessary, additional testing could include imaging tests and more complex lung function testing. Any child who has asthmatic symptoms more than twice a week should seek treatment to control inflammation of the airways.
There are several common triggers that your child can avoid in order to reduce symptoms and prevent an asthma attack. Common triggers include:
There are two types of inhalers for asthma treatment, and since they act differently on the lung tissue, it's critical to know which of your child's inhalers should be used daily and which is only for exacerbations/attacks.
Many people with asthma will need a daily inhaler containing a small dose of steroid. This keeps the immune system's inflammatory status normal rather than persistently over-reactive. By calming the hyperactive immune system in this way, it's much less likely to have an asthma attack occur quickly, even when a known trigger is encountered. This inhaler should be taken daily whether the child is well or sick.
Albuterol is a medication that causes the muscles around the main airway to relax quickly in an acute asthma attack. It does not act upon the inflammation status of the immune system at all, and its effect lasts only about four hours.
Inhaler treatments get to the lungs most effectively by using a spacer (a plastic tube that enables your child to inhale the medication appropriately without having to time their inhale with the release of the inhaler.
Most children who have asthma tend to have it for life; however, it often improves with age. The key to keeping symptoms in check is by using control medicine as prescribed, ensuring you always have medication available at the home and with the child, and knowing which inhaler treats the daily asthma vs. asthma attacks.
If your child has asthma, it's important to follow their provider's instructions if they are prescribed medication. It's estimated that about half of children prescribed asthma medication don't use it as regularly as recommended. If you have any questions about your child's symptoms, triggers or medication, schedule an evaluation with their provider or specialist.