Asthma attacks in children, a type of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which affects the airways of the lungs. In an asthmatic attack, the muscles that surround the bronchial tubes compress, narrows the air passages and make it difficult to breathe. There is no particular cure for this disease, but can be kept under control.
What Is An Asthma Attack?
An asthma symptom may vary, generally lasts from, few minutes to hours or days. Few people with asthma, may not show any symptoms for a long extended period of time. But, this may be interrupted by sudden worsening of symptoms.
In an asthmatic attack, the muscles that surround the bronchial tubes compress, narrows the air passages and make it difficult to breathe.
Duration of the asthma attack in children may vary, depending on the cause of the attack and for how long, the airways have been inflamed.
Symptoms Of Asthma:
The general symptoms to see for asthma attack in children are:
- Greater difficulty in breathing
- Severe wheezing and coughing, especially at night
- Increased shortness of breath
- Difficulty in performing normal daily activities.
Other symptoms of childhood asthma include:
- Difficulty in sleeping
- Delay in recovery after a respiratory infection
- Fatigue, caused by poor sleep
Types of asthma and causes:
Asthma can be classified into two types, based on classifications such as:
- Cause of the disease
- Severity
- Onset of the disease
1. Cause:
There are two types of asthma, based on exposure and non exposure to allergens.
Allergic Asthma:
An asthma attack in children is caused due to exposure to certain allergens such as mold, dust, dust mites, cockroaches, pollen and animal dander. Asthma is triggered even by irritants in the air, such as smoke or chemical fumes. Certain illnesses such as flu, sinusitis or an upper respiratory tract infection and a condition called, allergic rhinitis, or hay fever may also trigger asthma.
Non-Allergic Asthma:
Unlike allergic asthma, non-allergic asthma is not caused due to allergens. This asthma is caused by a specific activity or a specific exposure. The reactions may be delayed, depending on how it affects an individual. Common triggering factors for a non-allergic asthma are: physical exercise, dry air, cold weather, and strong odors such as perfumes.
2. Severity:
Depending on the severity of asthma as a disease, it is classified into:
- Intermittent asthma: This type of asthma, is the most common and is of the least severe type. People with this type of asthma, have symptoms for two days a week or less.
- Mild persistent asthma: Asthma, may show up more than two days a week, but never daily. The symptoms tend to occur on an almost weekly basis. This type of asthma, interferes with your daily activities to a certain minor level.
- Moderate persistent asthma: These asthma symptoms occur daily and you will have a disturbed sleep.
- Severe persistent asthma: People with this type of asthma, experience symptoms daily, unless they use two or more medications, several times a day. This type of asthma, interferes the most with their daily activities.
3. Onset and age:
There are two types of asthma, based on age.
1. Asthma in children – Asthma can start at an early age in children. One reason for asthma attacks in children are certain respiratory infections developed in early childhood. Extra care should be taken, for children below the age of five, as their immune system is still in the process of developing. Viral infections as well as airborne allergens are the main causes for asthma attack in children.
2. Asthma in adults: Asthma, commonly occurs in individuals, and younger people, under the age of 40. Adults are even prone to this disease, and one of the reasons could be due to heredity. People with a family history of asthma are more likely to develop this disease. Tobacco and cigarette smoking are even the common factors for asthma in adults.
Early Warning Signs Of Asthma:
Recognizing the early signs of asthma(R), can stop an asthma attack or prevent from getting worse.
- Signs of a cold or an allergy- Includes a runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, coughing and sore throat with a headache. Itchy, swollen eyes, and inflamed skin are even other early signs of this disease.
- Nighttime cough- Coughing, especially, at night.
Other symptoms where a patient needs immediate medical help are:
- Extremely pale and sweaty face
- Bluish discoloration of lips and fingernails.
- Uncontrollable cough
- Severe wheezing, and inability to inhale and exhale
- Very fast breathing
- Difficulty in talking or communicating
- Severe drowsiness and chest pain
Tips to do when you have an asthma attack:
- Sit down and try to take slow, steady breaths. Be calm, as panicking will make things worse.
- Take one puff of your inhaler for every 30-60secons, and up to a count of maximum 10 puffs.
- Never be afraid of calling for help in an emergency.
- Try to take the details of your medical history with you to the hospital.
- Visit your general practitioner or nurse within 24 hours.
Things to discuss with your doctor after an asthma attack:
- Visit your general practitioner or nurse within 48 hours after leaving the hospital, or within 24 hours if you do not need any hospital treatment.
- Discuss, with your practitioner, how you can reduce the risk of future attacks.
- Consult your doctor, about any changes, that is, the dosage of your treatment, the correct way of using your inhaler, that may need to be made to manage your condition safely.
How to prevent asthma attacks:
- Follow your medical history and take all your medicines regularly as prescribed.
- Regular asthma reviews with your practitioner should be done at least once a year.
- Check with your nurse if you are using the inhaler correctly or not.
- Avoid things that trigger your symptoms whenever possible.
- Do not ignore your symptoms if they get worse or you need to use your inhaler more often than usual.
By Supraja
