Today is World Asthma Day! If you are wondering why this might be important to you and your children, please read this post.  Did you know that 22 million people in the United States are believed to have asthma?  

Six million of those 22 million are children. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health, tells us: "Young children who often wheeze and have respiratory infections--as well as certain other risk factors--are at highest risk of developing asthma that continues beyond 6 years of age. The other risk factors include having allergies, eczema (an allergic skin condition), or parents who have asthma.... Among children, more boys have asthma than girls. Most, but not all, people who have asthma have allergies."[1]

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Asthma/Asthma_WhoIsAtRisk.html

Asthma is a chronic lung disease that enflames and narrows the airways--and makes those who suffer from it cough, feel short of breath and experience tightness in their chest.  They may wheeze and even feel as though they need to gasp for air.  Frequently, asthma begins in childhood, and the coughing that is characteristic of asthma may be experienced at night when a child is lying down or often early in the morning on rising.

What happens in asthma is the airways that carry air to and from the lungs become inflamed and swell as they react to substances--such as pollen or pet dander or even exposure to certain chemicals in the air--which can be inhaled. When swollen and sensitive airways react, the muscles that surround them become tighter narrowing the airways and allowing little air to and from the lungs. The mucosal lining of the lungs reacts and may manufacture more mucus making it still more difficult to breathe. 

The symptoms of asthma can manifest themselves each time an airway is inflamed--so it's very good to know if your child has asthma and what triggers an asthma attack.  Sometimes the asthma symptoms described above may go away by themselves if a triggering substance or thing (is removed) or they can be made better by the use of an asthma medicine. 

Asthma attacks are serious and can be life threatening in both adults and children, and they are nothing to be taken lightly.  If you suspect your child may have asthma, an upper-respiratory infection or an allergy that produces asthma-like symptoms, please check with your child's pediatrician.  Your primary care doctor can diagnose asthma based on your child's medical and family histories, a physical exam, and test results.        

Children who have asthma frequently develop symptoms before they reach age 5. And asthma in young children (aged 0 to 5 years) can be difficult to diagnose. It can be difficult to differentiate between asthma or another childhood condition because the symptoms of asthma can occur with other conditions.  A young child who has frequent wheezing with colds or respiratory infections is more likely to have asthma if:

• One or both parents have asthma;
• The child has signs of allergies, including the allergic skin condition eczema;
• The child has allergic reactions to pollens or other airborne allergens;
• The child wheezes even when he or she doesn't have a cold or other infection.

 While asthma cannot be completely cured, most often it can be controlled, but parents need to take a pro-active role in managing a child's asthma.  There are medicines and treatment therapies which do help.