Asthma is a common problem in children, and its effects can be serious. When your child has difficulty breathing, it’s scary for your child and for you. Your pediatrician can help treat and manage your child’s asthma, so you can both breathe easier.

It's easy for you to feel powerless when your child has an asthma attack, but there are tips and techniques you can try to manage your child’s asthma. The first step in managing your child’s asthma is to have your child tested for allergies. An allergic response to a substance can often bring on an asthmatic episode.

When you know what your child is allergic to, your child can try to avoid exposure to the substance. After allergy testing, your pediatrician may recommend allergy shots or sublingual immunotherapy drops to limit your child’s allergy symptoms.

Along with allergy treatment, your pediatrician will also treat your child’s asthma with:

• Short-term rescue inhalers
• Long-term asthma medications

Other important tips to modify your child’s environment to prevent asthma include:

• Using hypoallergenic sheets and pillowcases
• Vacuuming frequently or consider switching to hardwood floors
• Dusting furniture and other areas frequently
• Installing an air purifier in your house
• Keeping pets off of furniture and out of your child’s bedroom
• Keeping doors and windows closed in spring and summer

Even with the best precautions, asthma flare-ups happen. An asthma attack can become a life-threatening emergency, so be sure to contact emergency services if your child is:

• Unable to speak due to breathing difficulties
• Severely gasping and wheezing, even with medications
• Breathing so deeply that their chest gets sucked underneath their ribcage

Your child doesn’t have to be controlled by asthma, and it helps to have an action plan in place in the event of an asthma attack. Your pediatrician can help you be prepared. To find out more about managing your child’s asthma and how your pediatrician can help, talk with your pediatrician today.

Need help controlling your child’s asthma symptoms? Your pediatrician can help.

We know that seeing your child cough, wheeze and have trouble taking a full breath can be more than a little scary, but it’s essential to know that your pediatrician can provide your child with a custom asthma treatment plan that helps get their symptoms under control. Your pediatrician can provide your child with the care and treatment they need to lead rich, healthy lives without being at the mercy of their asthma symptoms.

So, how will your child's doctor treat their asthma?

First, We’ll Create an Action Plan

Your pediatrician can provide you and your child with the adequate asthma control needed to avoid missed school days, sleepless nights and trips to the hospital. Your pediatrician can create a customized action plan just for your child. This action plan is designed to help you and your child get better control over their symptoms.

This plan will have specific instructions on ways to manage your child’s asthma and what to do when symptoms flare up, so you are never confused about what to do when your child starts to notice symptoms or if their symptoms worsen.

Next, We’ll Prescribe Medication

In most cases, your children’s doctors will prescribe two medications to manage childhood asthma. The medications and doses prescribed by your pediatrician will depend on the severity and frequency of your child’s symptoms. The two most commonly used asthma medications include,

• Controlled medication: This is something your child will take every day, even if they feel fine. This medication helps prevent inflammation in the airways and reduces the risk of an attack.
• Fast-acting medication: Even though controlled medication can significantly reduce airway inflammation and the likelihood of attacks, sometimes triggers such as exercise or stress can still exacerbate your child’s asthma symptoms. When you notice the very beginnings of a flare-up, your child must take this fast-acting medication to alleviate symptoms quickly.

We May Recommend a Flu Shot

If your child has ever had to deal with the flu before, you know from firsthand experience that asthma and the flu do not mix! The flu virus can exacerbate asthma symptoms and lead to more severe complications such as pneumonia. This is why your pediatrician may encourage you to get your child vaccinated against the flu every year.

Asthma is one of the most common chronic disorders that pediatricians diagnose in children and teens. While there is no cure for asthma there are effective ways to manage your child’s symptoms to prevent flare-ups and attacks while also ensuring that they are able to live a full, healthy life. It’s important to recognize the warning signs of childhood asthma. Symptoms include,

• Wheezing
• Shortness of breath
• Rapid, shallow breathing
• Fatigue
• Easily winded, especially after exercise
• A persistent cough that usually gets worse at night or after activity
• Chest tightness or congestion

While there is no cure for asthma, there are ways to manage your child’s asthma symptoms and to reduce the risk for a flare-up. Of course, to be able to properly control your child’s asthma it’s important to understand more about this condition and what triggers your child’s symptoms. A pediatrician will be a valuable asset when it comes to discussing asthma treatment options and addressing any concerns that you might have.

Know Your Child’s Triggers

There are a variety of environmental elements and conditions that can also trigger airway inflammation and lead to an asthma attack. It’s important to figure out what your child’s triggers are so you can avoid them as much as possible. Of course, this is something that your pediatrician can help you determine as well. Common triggers include:

• Outdoor allergens such as pollen and mold
• Indoor allergens such as pet dander
• Viral infections
• Exercise
• Weather changes

Stick With Your Plan

Once a pediatrician has diagnosed your child with asthma, the next step is to create an asthma management plan (also referred to as an action plan). This plan is designed based on your child’s specific triggers to minimize the severity and the frequency of your child’s flare-ups, which also reduces the need for emergency medical care. So, what’s including in an asthma action plan? Here’s what should be in your child’s action plan:

• The medications prescribed to your child, along with how much they take and when they should take them
• Possible triggers
• Pinpointing the early signs of asthma flare-ups and what to do when they occur
• How to handle an asthma attack
• When to seek immediate medical attention

Take Medications as Directed

Medication is the most common way to manage asthma symptoms. Your pediatrician will prescribe a long-term controlling medication that your child will use daily to reduce airway swelling. When signs of a flare-up appear, a quick-acting inhaler can reduce swelling and prevent it from getting worse.

Know Signs of a Flare-up

Once your child has experienced a couple of flare-ups you’ll begin to pick up the warning signs so that you can start to recognize when another one might occur. These warning signs might come in the form of a persistent cough or wheezing. When these symptoms appear it’s important to have your child’s medication readily available.

If your child is showing symptoms and warning signs of asthma it’s important that you bring them in for an immediate medical checkup. Call your pediatrician today to learn more about ways to help your child better control their asthma symptoms.

Childhood asthma is more common than you might think. In fact, it is the most common chronic disorder in children, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Asthma is a long-term respiratory condition that causes swelling within the airways, making it different for your little one to breathe. How do you know if your child might have asthma? The telltale signs include:

• Trouble or difficulty breathing
• Wheezing or whistling when breathing in
• Tightness in the chest
• Coughing that often gets worse at night
• Fatigue, especially with exercise or play

If your child is experiencing or complaining about any of these symptoms it’s important that you schedule an appointment with a pediatrician as soon as possible. It’s important to write down the exact symptoms your little one has been experiencing, particularly because their symptoms may not be present during their evaluation. If you have a family history of asthma, this is something that your child’s pediatrician will want to know.

During the evaluation your doctor will also perform a physical exam, taking time to listen to both the heart and the lungs for signs of asthma. Sometimes a test known as spirometry will be used to test the lung function (this is most common in children over the age of 6 years old). This test is used to measure how much air is in the lungs and how quickly your child can exhale. Other tests may also be performed to check for other health issues that could be exacerbating your child’s asthma symptoms such as a sinus infection.

Asthma is serious and requires medication to keep this problem under control. While there is no cure for asthma, your pediatrician’s goal for asthma treatment is to prevent the severity and frequency of asthma attacks. We want to prevent your little one from having to rush to the hospital for a severe attack. Luckily, there are medications that your children’s doctor can prescribe to lessen asthma symptoms.

The type of asthma medication your child receives will depend on several factors including age. Infants and toddlers may require inhaled steroids to control asthma symptoms. The dosage will also change depending on your child’s age. Along with long-term medications that will be taken every day to help control symptoms and keep inflammation down there are fasting-acting medications that your child will also be prescribed (e.g. albuterol), which is only used when your little one feels an attack coming on. Before any medication is given to your child, your pediatrician will talk to both you and your little one about how to use asthma medication properly.