Asthma
Do you restrict your activities because you easily become out of breath? Do you often develop bronchitis during the Fall & Winter? Does your child have a persistent dry, cough that worsens at night? These are all early warning signs of asthma. But asthma can be successfully managed once it is properly diagnosed and treated. Visit our office today for an complete evaluation and spirometry to accurately assess your or members of your family’s lung function.
Asthma is a chronic, inflammatory lung disease characterized by recurrent breathing problems. The inflammation makes the airways smaller and therefore making it more difficult for air to move in and out of the lungs. People with asthma may acute episodes, when the air passages in their lungs get narrower, and breathing becomes more difficult. Sometimes episodes of asthma are triggered by allergens, although infection, exercise, cold air and other factors are also important triggers.
It is the most common serious chronic disease of childhood, affecting 9 million children in the United States. The airways are also sensitive to certain triggers, and these triggers can differ from person to person. Many children with asthma have what is termed "allergic asthma", that means allergens worsen their symptoms. For these children, exposure to allergens such as dust mites, mold, animal dander and cockroaches can further irritate their "twitchy" airways causing even more constriction, the production of excess mucus and a tightening of the muscles that surround the airways.
Asthma can be a tricky disease to diagnose for a number of reasons, including the fact that there are other respiratory ailments with overlapping symptoms, and some children can seem symptom free for long-periods of time but then experience intermittent asthma "attacks."
Watch for symptoms that can clue you in to seek the advice of a physician. These include:
- Coughing. This may be constant or just intermittent. Not all children who have asthma exhibit symptoms each and every day.
- Wheezing or a whistling sounds are audible when you or your child exhales.
- Shortness of breath or rapid breathing. This may or may not be associated with exercise.
- Chest tightness.
- Fatigue—your child may slow down, stop playing or become easily irritated.
- A young child may say his chest "hurts" or "feels funny."
- Infants may have problems feeding and may grunt during suckling.
- Older children may avoid activities such as sports or sleepovers.
- A child may have problems sleeping because of nighttime coughing or difficulty breathing.