Sunday, December 13, 2009

Common Children Asthma Symptoms

Each year, almost half a million children end up in the emergency room as a result of asthma conditions. More than half of those require at least one day of hospitalization due to their asthma symptoms. Asthma accounts for more hospital visits and stays than any other chronic disease during childhood.

It also results in more absences from school than any other childhood sickness. When these days are combined with the sick days that parents take to stay home and care for their kids, the financial effects of childhood asthma can be almost as significant as the emotional effects.

Despite the number of children suffering from asthma, not all cases are known. There are a large number of kids suffering from what has become known as "hidden asthma" where the symptoms are dismissed as those of a cold, bronchitis or some other less serious condition.

Because the symptoms are often quite similar to these other conditions, children often don't receive the proper treatment for their asthma. If a child seems to be prone to catching colds or waking up in the night coughing, it could be a sign of an asthma problem. This is also the case with kids who seem to get winded quickly when playing games or sports.

Some of the most common symptoms of asthma in children include:

Wheezing

While wheezing isn't the most common symptom, it is certainly one of the most obvious. If your child's breathing produces a whistling sound, it could be a sign of airway obstruction, a common symptom of asthma.

While wheezing can be caused by other conditions as well, it is best to check with your child's doctor to get a proper diagnosis at the first sign of the problem.

Coughing

Coughing is likely the most common symptom of childhood asthma and in many cases is the only one. If your child's cough is persistent and continues after any other cold symptoms are gone (or none are apparent at all), if they cough during any kind of physical activity or if they have a rattling cough with no production, it could be a sign of an asthma problem.

Tightness in the Chest

Sometimes children will complain that their chest hurts or that they can't seem to catch their breath, but in many cases they can't really explain the feeling effectively. Watch for signs that they're having trouble breathing, such as pursed lips or flared nostrils. If the difficulty breathing is severe you may even see the hollow of their throat moving in and out as they struggle to get air to their lungs.

Jackson Sperry writes about occupational asthma and other related topics at http://asthmarelief.devhub.com/

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All About Children Asthma Triggers

Although Asthma is a disease that can be explained and it is usually caught during childhood, there is no medical definite as to what causes a person to be afflicted with it. This aliment, simply put, is the irritation of the airways that can result in wheezing and shortness of breath.

Due to this condition of the lungs, symptoms such as wheezing and shortness of breath can be trigger by several things and some of these things are:

Viral Infections

These are sicknesses such as a cold, flu and a sore throat.

Weather

Sometimes the weather can be too hot, too cold, or perhaps too windy, for a child who has this disease and it is not under control yet.

Exercises

Here again, if your child's asthma is not under control, exercising can cause them to cough uncontrollably, only to be followed by difficulty breathing. Exercising also borderline playing activities such as tag and follow the leader.

Stress

Increasingly, children are faced with stressful situations and their home and school life and or a sporting group, can be the trigger of the stress.

Smoke

The smoke from a tobacco product, such as a cigarette, the fumes from a vehicle and from burning trash, such as papers, can affect an asthmatic child.

Household Odors

This can be air freshener, insect repellents and cleaning solutions.

A few other things such as animal danger, mould, plants and flowers also triggers and although this is a chronic (lifelong) condition, these symptoms can be brought under control to the point that its symptoms no longer appear, with the help of a doctor.

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How To Control Children Asthma

There is no known reason as to why a child may have asthma although there are risked factors associated with who may have it. That is, if one or both parents have it, their child may have it as well. There is no known cure for this disease but there are medical treatments for it.

As with many medical conditions, when a child is faced with one, their parents and to a larger extent, their entire family, is affected by it and there is no difference here, however there is hope. A few things can be done to bring this condition under control and there are:

Education

Learn as much as you can about this disease. The more you understand it, the better a position you will be in to help your child. Search the Internet, visit the library and above all, talk to a trusted health care provider.

Avoiding Triggers

Triggers are things that cause the symptoms of this disease to appear. Therefore, helping ones child in keeping away from these triggers will be worth it. Some of these triggers are cold, smoke and stress.

Medical Management

If your child have prescribed medication, making sure that he/she knows how to use it correctly is the first step. There are two types of medication. They are Relievers and Controllers.

The Relievers are helpful in treating the symptoms of this disease, for example, if your child is wheezing and a Reliever medication is used, it will help to stop the wheezing.

The Controllers are used to treat the cause of the symptoms, for example, to keep wheezing from occurring. It should be noted that if a Controller medication is used when a symptom is occurring, it might not immediately stop the symptom, a Reliever medication should be used.

Make a Plan

Have a talk with your child's doctor and ask him/her to help you in preparing a plan that will help to bring the asthma under control.

This condition can limit a child's involvement in many things, that is, it can prevent them from participating in sporting events, but as it is brought under control, the list of don'ts will get shorter and the list of "can dos" will become longer.

So, before making any final decisions, do some more research, talk with a trusted doctor and then take some action.

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Examining The Risk Factors For Children Asthma

With many medical conditions, there are risked factors, and asthma is no exception. Defined, as inflammation of the airways, it is a long-term condition and it can be controlled with medication.

Although there is no known reason for asthma and there is no known cure for it, its symptoms can be brought under control with the correct usage of medication.

Some of the risk factors involved in a child having this disease are:

Family History

If one's family have a history of having this condition, it is possible that a child will also inherit it. Additionally, children whose mothers are dealing with eczema, also stands a chance of having to deal with asthma.

Although this disease is not contagious and family history plays a part in it, if one parent has it, it does not mean that their children will have it; but if both parents have it, there is a greater chance of their children having it.

Premature Births

It is also possible that babies who were born prematurely, that is, around 36 weeks may also have to face it. Additionally, a child is consistently exposed to smoke from tobacco products such as cigars, stands the risk of displaying asthmatic symptoms.

Dust

There is also a link between children who have been exposed to dust on a regular basic and this ailment.

Allergies

It is highly possible for a child who has allergies, to also "develop" asthma. Nevertheless, this does not mean that every child who suffers from allergies will also have to deal with this ailment.

Allergy is a negative reaction of the body in response to something. For example, water may run out of the eyes, the face and other parts of the body may swell and or wheezing may occur in response to a particular thing.

Therefore, if your child has this disease, learning everything you can about it and working closely with a doctor will help to bring it under control.

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Five Natural Asthma Treatment Techniques For Child Asthma

Most of us have heard of asthma, and few have an idea about what it really is. Sure, you might have heard that asthma is a chronic condition and that it involves difficulty in breathing, but most people do not know that asthma without proper treatment can be fatal. Despite the amount of information available through books, on the internet and through clinicians there is still a lot of people that are either misinformed or uninformed about what asthma is and how to treat it properly.

Asthma in children is a very delicate condition to handle; you wouldn't want to play around with alternative treatments and medication without doing further research on affectively and possible side effects. But there are natural asthma relief techniques that have proven their worth when it comes to safety and effect. Here are five of those:

Omega-3 Fatty Acid: One factor that most parents or guardians often miss considering is the food being taken in by children. Inflammation causing fats or arachidonic acid in medical terms is considered to be one of the most common causes of asthma attacks in children. One way to prevent the build up of arachidonic acid within the body is by increasing intake of beneficial fats such as eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) which are commonly found in fish oil. Omega-3 fatty acid contains EPA and can help prevent attacks caused by arachindonic acid.

Fruits and Veggies: Adding fruits and vegetables in the diet of your child can help him/her more in terms of developing a greater resistance to attack than depending on the medication alone. By incorporating fruits and vegetables to your child's diet his/her immune system will be strengthened, lessening the chances of attack and gaining better resistance to illnesses that might aggravate it.

Butterbur: Butterbur is a shrub that grows in some parts of Europe, Asia, and North America. Butterbur contains petasin and isopetasin that are believed to reduce muscle spasms and has anti-inflammatory effects at the same time. Some studies have also concluded that butterbur can work well together with the prescribed inhalers resulting to faster relief.

Breathing Techniques: Whether you enroll your child to health programs that concentrate more on breathing or teach them yourself, your child will be able to gain greater advantage in times of attacks. It is important that your child does not totally depend on his/her medication and has something to lean back on whenever things don't improve immediately.

There are many effective breathing techniques that are available today but so far the most known are; Pranayama, Papworth, and Buteyko. While Pranayama might be a bit complicated or difficult for your child you can also go with Papworth and Buteyko, not only are they effective but also considered safe by most doctors.

Exercise: For most adult asthmatics this is hard to do, and since we are talking about children this makes it more difficult. But it does not necessarily need to be regulated exercise. Indoor or outdoor play would be enough, just as long as the muscles get the movement it needs to stay healthy and develop strength at the same time. Just remember to take it slow when starting then build up as you go along.

I hope this article will give you some insights to treat your young ones using these top 5 techniques.

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