I remember my oldest son had a lot of problems when he was a baby with frequent upper respiratory infections, wheezing, difficulty breathing, and asthma. I never found out what triggered his asthma problems but I am assuming it is because he has sensitivity to environmental allergens. In fact, now he only has to use an inhaler when he exercises outdoors, typically, during the fall and spring when allergens are higher. If you think that your child has asthma symptoms or has difficulty breathing, it is important to see the doctor or take your child to the emergency room. Jessy from DomeHealth, wanted to share with you some basic information about asthma and how to treat it. Disclosure: This post is for information purposes only. If your child is having difficulty breathing, has a chronic cough, or is wheezing, take your child to see his or her doctor or go to the nearest emergency room. Asthma is a respiratory disease that is very common, especially among children. It rarely develops before the age of two years.
What is asthma?
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways. Under the influence of an irritant or an allergen , bronchi will ignite by an irritation and will produce more mucus , resulting in the reduction of the space for the passage of air. This is a disease that currently affects over 3.5 million people, representing 6% of the adult population and 10% of children. Although this disease is widespread, especially among the younger population, it rarely affects babies. The majority of people who will develop asthma will show the first identifiable symptoms at the age of 5 years and it is very rare that a child develops them before the age of 2 years. Many toddlers have congested airways, but this is not due to this disease.
Asthma Causes
Environmental Factors It have to be noted that the number of people with asthma is increasing, especially in large cities. Pollution, sedentary lifestyle and the contact with allergens may favor its development. In addition, our living environment and mainly our homes are becoming more protected and so sterile, that we are unknowingly making our health more fragile than it should be and have been in the past. Some asthma specialists have even gone so far as to declare asthma as a disease of civilization! Hereditary Factors The likelihood of developing asthma increases if another family member is or was affected. Children who have a parent with asthma are 3-6 times more likely to have asthma and children whose both parents are suffering from asthma are 10 times more likely to develop this same condition. Breast Milk Strengthens Your Baby’s Immune System We must remember that baby’s and toddlers that are breastfed develop better immunity and have less risk of developing allergies, than the bottle-fed babies. This is explained by the fact that the immune system of the mother have concentrated it’s healing and allergen fighting strength in the breast milk and that way it helps protect the baby against many of the possible infections that are in our environment.
Comments
6 responses to “Asthma in Children – What is Asthma, Causes, Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment”
I am thankful that neither of my children suffer from Asthma. This was a very informative article though. Thank you for sharing it!
Very nice informative article! Your son’s asthma sounds similar to my twin daughter’s asthma. They have triggers with certain seasons but they have been diagnosed with exercise induced asthma. My oldest daughter has year round asthma issues that came onset just last year in her teens and we seem to be having issues with her getting worse and we are currently trying to find the right inhalor that works for her. I didn’t know about the eczema association. That’s very interesting! My oldest did has had issues with eczema since she was a baby.
My oldest son also has eczema which is usually worse during the summer months. He has had it since he was around a year old.
I’ve heard about many kids having asthma these few days..luckily my kids don’t have. I know how troublesome it can be for both parent and kid if they do suffer from an attack.
Asthma’s awful! All four of my kids have had it as infants, but they all outgrew it except for one. We had the nebulizer at home along with some hospital visits. Part of our issue is that SoCal is a smoggy area but they all had that eczema, too. One still has issues a young teen, hard to find what works!
[…] that he is older he still has mild asthma especially when he exercises outside during the spring and fall. His asthma is triggered by […]