About childhood asthma symptoms
About childhood asthma symptoms:
Asthma is the leading serious chronic illness of children in the U.S. In 2005, an estimated 6.5 million children under age 18 (almost 1.4 million under age 5) currently had asthma, 3.8 million of which had an asthma attack, and many others have “hidden” or undiagnosed asthma. Asthma is the third leading cause of hospitalization among children under the age of 15. Approximately 32.6 percent of hospitalizations due to asthma in 2005 were in those under age 15 , however, only 27.8 percent of the U.S. population was younger than 15 years of age. Asthma is the most common cause of school absenteeism due to chronic disease; in 2003, children reporting at least one asthma attack aged 5 to 17 years missed 12.8 million school days due to the disease.
Asthma in Children – Symptoms:
Symptoms of asthma can be mild or severe. Your child may have no symptoms; severe, daily symptoms; or something in between. How often your child has symptoms can also change. Symptoms of asthma may include: Wheezing, a whistling noise of varying loudness that occurs when the airways of the lungs narrow. Coughing, which is the only symptom for some children.Chest tightness.Shortness of breath, which is rapid, shallow breathing or difficulty breathing.Sleep disturbance.Tiring quickly during exercise.
How Is Asthma Diagnosed In Children?
Asthma is often difficult to diagnose in infants. However, in older children the disease can often be diagnosed based on your child’s medical history, symptoms, and physical exam. Medical history and symptom description: Your child’s doctor will be interested in any history of breathing problems you or your child may have had, as well as a family history of asthma, allergies, a skin condition called eczema, or other lung disease. It is important that you describe your child’s symptoms - cough, wheezing, shortness of breath, chest pain or tightness - in detail, including when and how often these symptoms have been occurring. Physical exam: During the physical examination, the doctor will listen to your child’s heart and lungs.
Causes of Asthma:
Asthma in children usually has many causes, or triggers. These triggers may change as a child ages. A child’s reaction to a trigger may also change with treatment. Viral infections can increase the likelihood of an asthma attack.
Common triggers of asthma include the following:
Respiratory infections: These are usually viral infections. In some patients, other infections with fungi, bacteria, or parasites might be responsible. Allergens: An allergen is anything in a child’s environment that causes an allergic reaction. Allergens can be foods, pet dander, molds, fungi, roach allergens, or dust mites. Allergens can also be seasonal outdoor allergens (eg, mold spores, pollens, grass, trees).
What You Need To Know:
Talk to your Pediatrician if you think your child has any asthma symptoms. A Pediatric Pulmonologist is an asthma specialist that can help diagnose and treat kids with asthma, especially when a child has subtle symptoms and the diagnosis of asthma is not very clear cut. Younger children can cough and wheeze, which are typical asthma symptoms, when they have a viral infection, such as RSV, and it doesn’t mean that they have asthma.
