There are around seven million children in the US alone who have asthma. Shockingly, over one million of these children are less than five years old! Asthma can cause children to miss school and have a serious negative impact on health. The symptoms of asthma include shortness of breath, wheezing and a sensation of tightness in the chest.
Asthma attacks can vary greatly in terms of their severity. Parents can get valuable information from the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program, which provides asthma guidelines and works to help parents and children cope with asthma.
These asthma guidelines are used by physicians in managing childhood asthma. The exact treatment used will depend on the severity of the asthma attacks in the child; doctors also monitor the children’s progress in controlling their symptoms using prescription medications.
If the child in question starts to improve, the physician may begin lowering the dosage of their asthma medication in the interests of being able to take the child off of medication. However, if the child’s symptoms become more severe, than either an increase in the dosage or a change of medication is called for.
The asthma guidelines set out goals for the treatment of childhood asthma. If the course of treatment is not successful in meeting these goals, then the physician will adjust the regimen of treatment. One of the things which the doctor will look for is if your child’s asthma is preventing them from attending school or playing with their peers.
Your physician will also monitor the child to see if he or she is experiencing any side effects from their asthma medication, particularly in the first few days after beginning the medication. They will also use this initial period to gauge how well the medication is suppressing asthma attacks.
There are different classifications of childhood asthma laid out in the asthma guidelines. One classification is mild intermittent, meaning that the child has symptoms no more than twice a week. The next most serious classification is mild persistent, where the child displays symptoms more than twice a week, perhaps daily.
The next classification is moderate persistent, meaning that there are daily symptoms and the highest level is severe persistent. This classification indicates daily and nightly symptoms of asthma. If your child suffers from asthma, you should discuss their health and the asthma classifications with your physician.
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