Asthma in Children: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment

asthma and children

Today, the diagnosis of children’s bronchial asthma is not an event that can complicate the life of a child and his parents. Proper asthma treatment provides a proper development of a baby and allows him to lead an active lifestyle. With age, the number of attacks reduces, and often they completely disappear.

  • In bronchial asthma, the sensitivity of the bronchi becomes increased due to the action of certain substances. As a result, inflammation develops. A child begins to cough and suffers from attacks of suffocation;
  • It is important to identify the factors that cause an asthma attack in a child (an allergic substance or an infection that causes an exacerbation). Sometimes it is enough simply to eliminate the “provocateur”;
  • To prevent attacks, the doctor usually prescribes anti-inflammatory drugs from various groups, including Ventolin HFA. We will review this preparation later on.

Symptoms of asthma in children

  1. The main symptom of asthma in children is a chronic dry cough without sputum. In this case, the child does not have a high temperature;
  2. The second symptom is suffocation attacks in contact with certain allergic substances (allergens) or due to respiratory tract infections. During an attack, the child’s bronchi swell and fill with viscous mucus.

Depending on the frequency and severity of asthma, the disease can be mild, moderate and severe. The attack is accompanied by a cough and shortness of breath.

The child’s breathing becomes noisy, wheezing, you can hear it even from a distance. In some cases, you may observe a stuffy nose or a runny nose, itching rash. Older children may complain of a feeling of contraction in the chest and a lack of air.

Causes of bronchial asthma in children

Children’s bronchial asthma often develops against the background of a hereditary predisposition to allergy, but the disease cannot be considered hereditary. There are two main provoking factors for bronchial asthma: an allergy (atopic asthma) and inflammatory diseases of the respiratory tract (infectious asthma).

Most often, this condition is caused by allergies. “Irritants” can be found in any place – food, dust, pollen, household chemicals, animal hair.

Sometimes asthma becomes the final link in the chain of allergic symptoms: first, the allergy is manifested by eczema (itchy blistering rash), hay fever (a runny nose), and only after some time the body begins to react to the allergen and an attack occurs.

Less often, asthma attacks occur after frequent inflammation of the respiratory tract, such as bronchitis. Then, every new episode of acute respiratory disease is accompanied by an asthma attack.

Children’s asthma diagnosis

  1. The doctor collects detailed information about the child’s life and the features of asthma attacks. Sometimes, he determines the allergen already during the conversation;
  2. Then a doctor makes a series of tests to determine the allergen, which provokes seizures;
  3. The next step to do is to determine the degree of disruption of the respiratory system. To do this, a doctor performs a spirometry.

Unfortunately, bronchial asthma in children is often diagnosed too late, many months after its development. The diagnosis may initially sound like “obstructive bronchitis” or something else.

This may be due to the fact that parents perceive the diagnosis of “bronchial asthma” as a sentence that means disability. This can cause the doctor to avoid a “terrifying diagnosis” and prescribe the same drugs that are usually given for bronchial asthma, such salbutamol inhaler.

Treatment of bronchial asthma in children

For the treatment of bronchial asthma, it is often enough to remove the allergen from the child’s environment. If this does not help, the doctor prescribes anti-inflammatory treatment.  You often wonder how to cure asthma in children? Remember, asthma is not treated, but it can be controlled well.

Asthma is considered to be “under control” if:

  • The child lives a normal and active life;
  • Symptoms do not occur too often;
  • Chronic complications do not develop;
  • The child goes to school every day;
  • The child can exercise;
  • You do not call a doctor and an ambulance, you do not go to the hospital;
  • The child regularly takes medicines like albuterol that prevents bronchial asthma attacks.

It is very important that parents clearly understand what is asthma, know the features of the disease course in their child, and control the disease.

Drugs for asthma treatment are divided into two groups: some stop an attack, others prevent its development. Parents should carefully follow the recommendations of a doctor, who can determine the mode of its reception.

For mild asthma, a doctor usually prescribes preparations from the group of stabilizers of immune cells membranes (sodium cromoglycate). This drug does not help at the time of an asthma attack but does not allow the seizure to develop. Under the action of the drug, immune cells do not release substances that cause inflammation and narrow the bronchi.

For severe asthma, a doctor usually prescribes hormones corticosteroids (for example, budesonide, fluticasone). Do not be afraid of these drugs, because they act only on the mucous membrane of the bronchi. In severe asthma, the consequences of side effects are much lower than the consequences of the disease.

To urgently remove the attack in the child, a doctor usually recommends drugs that can quickly stop a spasm – Ventolin inhaler (or Salbutamol inhaler).

What is Ventolin for asthma?

Ventolin is an anti-asthmatic drug that is used to treat different diseases of the bronchi and lungs, accompanied by a spasm of the bronchi. This medication is used only for inhalation. Ventolin inhaler: an active substance – Salbutamol, which suppresses bronchial reactivity and eliminates or prevents bronchospasm; and auxiliary substances that provide a convenient administration of Salbutamol and its uniform distribution. With the introduction of Ventolin into the respiratory tract, Salbutamol acts on the smooth muscles of the bronchi, relaxing them and increasing the amount of inhaled air. In addition, the active ingredient of Ventolin inhaler is able to stimulate the secretion of the bronchial glands and activate the ciliary epithelium of the bronchi, which ensures the excretion of mucus during coughing. You can buy Ventolin inhaler online at a low price.

Ventolin for children

Ventolin (albuterol inhaler) can be used to treat and prevent bronchospasm in children from the age of 2. In some cases, the medication is prescribed even at the age of 18 months. At an earlier age, the preparation is used in rare cases. Most often, Ventolin (albuterol) is prescribed for a short period considering the age of the child, the severity of the disease, the intake of other medications and the risk of possible side effects. To increase the effectiveness of the drug, a doctor advises to administer Salbutamol with a nebulizer or use a spacer. Salbutamol dosage, administration, and duration of use – all these parameters are determined by the doctor individually for each child.