It’s winter holiday season again, so pay attention to childhood asthma and have fun over the holidays.
Asthma is a disease that requires long-term treatment. Children can use the ample time during the winter and summer holidays to come to the hospital for detailed examinations and to lay the foundation for the next step of treatment. For children who have an asthma control program in place, they should also insist on regular review. The nature of asthma in children is chronic inflammation of the airways, which is related to environmental and genetic factors. With the progress of industrialized society, environmental pollution is becoming more and more serious and there are more and more chemicals in food and daily necessities that can lead to asthma attacks.
Be aware of asthma during the holidays
Many people know that allergens can trigger asthma, but in fact the cold is also a risk factor for asthma. Winter vacation is in the winter, the weather is cold, and it is easy to cause a cold; summer vacation long-term use of air conditioning, indoor and outdoor temperature difference is also easy to induce a cold. Cold induced asthma is very common, patients are usually accompanied by pharyngitis, laryngitis, rhinitis and other symptoms.
Therefore, children with asthma should pay attention to increasing and decreasing their clothes and wearing a good mask in winter, and not to make the air conditioning temperature too low in summer to reduce the occurrence of colds.
Children’s bronchial tubes are finer and more sensitive than those of adults, so they are more likely to suffer from asthma. Asthma in children is easy to be treated as a common cold because of its atypical onset. If a child suddenly sneezes, has a runny nose, and has a prolonged cough that does not improve after normal cold treatment, it is time to wonder if it is a sign of asthma. At this time, parents should take their children to the hospital for a detailed examination.
Asthma is a chronic inflammation of the airways, and inhaled glucocorticoids are the preferred treatment to control inflammation and reduce acute attacks of asthma. Foreign clinical studies have successively confirmed the efficacy, safety and compliance of glucocorticoid nebulizer inhalation therapy. The International Consensus on Childhood Asthma mentions that early inhalation of glucocorticoids in asthmatic children with signs such as colds can effectively prevent asthma attacks.
Holiday asthma should be regulated
Usually children have a heavy study load, parents are afraid of delaying their homework and often treat their children until the disease stops and they think they are well. Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways. Inflammation leads to the destruction and thickening of the airway walls, which can affect the lung function of children as they develop into adults and requires adherence to long-term treatment.
The winter and summer holidays are a good opportunity to treat your child’s asthma.
In addition for some children with frequent coughing and wheezing, they should also be alert to the possibility of asthma and should seek medical attention in time for early prevention and treatment to avoid developing into typical asthma.
If the child is allergic or the parents suspect that the child has asthma, they can take the child to the pediatric department and the allergist department during the winter and summer holidays for relevant tests such as pulmonary ventilation function measurement and bronchial excitation test to confirm whether the child has asthma.
Asthma treatment should be standardized
Children with asthma may have spontaneous remission of symptoms or remission with medication, or may not have attacks for weeks and months.
On the other hand, patients can have explosive attacks, which can be life-threatening and place a significant burden on the patient and society.
For this reason, children with asthma should be treated with long-term, standardized anti-inflammatory therapy.
Inhaled glucocorticosteroids are the first choice for long-term asthma control and are effective in controlling asthma symptoms, improving quality of life, improving lung function, reducing airway inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness, reducing asthma exacerbations, and reducing asthma mortality.
Standardized treatment requires the use of the lowest dose of medication for maintenance treatment, which can improve the quality of life of children while also reducing side effects, and long-term use will not affect the growth and development of children.
Pay attention to children’s asthma and have a happy holiday
Some children may plan to use the summer and winter vacations to travel, but it is best to do so within your means and with good planning. When traveling, it is best to be accompanied by someone and to bring a summary of the condition and the usual asthma medication, emergency medication for acute attacks, and appropriate medical equipment such as a nebulizer, which should be carried with you. Among them, nebulized inhaled glucocorticoids are the most effective asthma control medication, which can reduce acute asthma attacks in children.
In addition, know your destination well and identify and reduce the risk factors with which your child is exposed.
Avoid exposure to cold and polluted air when outdoors and bring a good mask. Allergy-prone pollen environments should be avoided, and for heavily hazy weather or during concentrated fireworks displays, avoid going outside. Dietary care should be paid attention to during the break, avoiding food allergies or irritating foods.
Adhering to long-term standardized treatment can effectively control children’s asthma condition and significantly improve the quality of life.