How Asthma Affects Healthy Lifestyle

Asthma is perhaps among the more common childhood ailments. It can sometimes be debilitating, particularly for younger children, but is only rarely truly fatal. However, despite this, it is not a condition that should be underestimated. There are some things that parents with asthmatic children should be aware of that goes beyond what medications the child needs to take. For example, most parents are usually shocked when they learn that their child has asthma, as opposed to just a minor cough. While a persistent cough might be just that, parents are typically unaware that episodes involving a shortness of breath can indicate asthma, and that there are instances when this shortness of breath can only be heard through a microscope.

One parent might wonder just how severe the asthma of their child is. In such a case, it is usually best to actually ask the doctor. Moderate cases of this condition can be put under firm control through the regular use of inhaled corcicosteroids, usually delivered by asthma inhalers. More severe cases can require regular doses of corcicosteroids. The most severe of cases tend to involve the use of long-acting beta2-agonists, which are used to dilute the patient's airways. Children that suffer from severe cases also tend to be advised to learn to avoid that which might trigger an attack, and parents are encouraged to have the appropriate treatments on hand just in case.

With that in mind, what, exactly, can trigger asthma attacks? Well, these attacks can be triggered by a wide variety of allergens, with dust mites, roaches, mold, and cigarette smoke being among the more common ones. Specific allergies sometimes vary from child to child, and testing for them would often be a necessity to determine which ones apply. Note that these may be inherited, and there is usually a good chance that the allergy that triggered asthma in a parent would manifest in the child.