What is asthma?
Asthma in children is one of the most common respiratory diseases that severely affects the physical and mental health of children. The famous singer Teresa Teng, who is well known and loved, lost her life to asthma. It is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways that results in a hyper-reactive airway due to the persistence of a chronic inflammatory response, resulting in recurrent wheezing and other symptoms when exposed to triggers.
Asthma, as the name implies, occurs when the child is stimulated by allergens, cold air, or other triggers. However, there are other symptoms that may accompany or indicate an impending asthma attack and should be taken seriously. Most children with asthma will have symptoms of upper respiratory allergies, such as itchy eyes, itchy nose, sneezing and runny nose, and infants and children may exhibit frequent eye rubbing and nose rubbing.
How can I tell if my child may have asthma?
The following can be used as warning signs of asthma in children.
1. Repeated coughing for more than one month, manifested as an irritating dry cough with little sputum, mainly in the morning and at night.
2. Irritating dry cough easily appears after exercise, inhalation of cold air or consumption of cold drinks.
3.Recurring chest tightness, which intensifies when you have a cold or after exercise.
4.Allergic to certain odors (such as decoration odors, toilet cleaners, perfumes, styling mousse, etc.), sneezing and coughing.
5.Allergic to seafood, certain tropical fruits, some medications, or in infancy, showing intolerance to eggs and milk powder (often manifested as crying, vomiting, diarrhea, severe and recurrent eczema, no weight gain).
6, there are frequent sneezing, runny nose, nasal congestion, nasal itching and other symptoms of allergic rhinitis, often manifested as shrugging the nose, rubbing the nose, digging the nose.
7.Have obvious history of eczema.
8.Have a family history of allergy (need to ask relatives within three generations if they have allergic diseases).
9.High peripheral blood eosinophils.
How is asthma treated?
Repeated abuse of antibiotics to treat asthma in children is more common. However, inhalation methods should be preferred for the treatment of asthma, that is, inhaled glucocorticoids are the basic measure to prevent asthma attacks.
However, when an acute asthma attack occurs, a multi-pronged approach should be taken to help the child find relief as soon as possible. In addition to oxygenation, wheezing and anti-allergy treatment, appropriate sedation and antibiotics are also necessary.
Parents should be aware that asthma, similar to diabetes and hypertension, is a disease that requires long-term control and requires not only active treatment during wheezing episodes, but also vigilance in daily life and active prevention of wheezing episodes in order to effectively improve the quality of life of the affected child. For children with asthma, physical exercise should be strengthened to enhance the body’s resistance, and swimming is a better choice. In winter, attention should be paid to the adaptation ability of the respiratory mucosa to cold air. For parents, they should ensure that the temperature difference between indoor and outdoor and children’s clothing are appropriate, prevent colds, adhere to medication, intermittent follow-up, and actively communicate with doctors to maintain the long-term stability of the child’s condition and improve his or her quality of life.
Daily management of children with asthma
The management of asthma requires the joint participation of parents and doctors.
1. Encourage the child to adhere to regular daily measurements of expiratory flow rate, monitor changes in condition, and record asthma diary.
2. Pay attention to the presence of asthma attack aura, such as cough, shortness of breath, chest tightness, etc., and take medication to reduce the symptoms of asthma attack once they appear.
3.Adhere to regular medication during the remission period.
4.Take all necessary and practical preventive measures to prevent asthma attacks according to the specific situation of the child. Children with dust mite allergy should avoid lying or sleeping on cloth furniture as much as possible, and clean their bed sheets, clothes and toys with hot water every week. During illness, children are less resistant to various types of bacteria. Do not place plants indoors and keep sinks, garbage cans and refrigerators clean. Do not give your child cold food, especially cold drinks and ice cream. Parents should do more gentle exercises with their children, such as jogging and swimming, which can improve their cardiopulmonary function, enhance their endurance and relieve asthma symptoms.
Measurement of expiratory flow rate
Peak flow rate is a good indicator of the severity of airway obstruction. The measurement requires the child to exhale as hard and fast as possible.
1, the need to prepare home peak flow velocity meter: peak flow velocity meter is an inexpensive, easy to use, easy to grasp lung function measurement instrument. It can be used to monitor changes in condition at any time. The use of peak flow tachometer to measure lung function to manage asthma is as important as measuring blood pressure to diagnose and monitor hypertension.
2. Use of the peak flow rate meter: Ask the child to stand in a standing position, inhale deeply and exhale as quickly and forcefully as possible, record the vernier degrees and repeat 3 times to take the highest value. Measure once a day in the morning and once in the evening, or 3 days a week, but must be measured at the same time every day. Bronchodilators should be measured once before and once after 10 minutes of medication.
3, the significance of expiratory flow rate measurement: take the measurement of the day of the morning and evening values, calculate the variation rate. When the variation rate is >20%, you should be alert to the possibility of asthma attack and prepare inhalation medication in time for the attack. If the variability rate continues to be abnormal, the child’s asthma may be poorly controlled and medical attention is needed to adjust the treatment.