Asthma is a lower respiratory tract disease that manifests with episodic coughing, respiratory distress, rapid fatigue, congestion, and wheezing due to narrowing of the airways. It is believed to start by adding environmental factors to genetic factors that cause sensitivity in the airways. In large part, it is triggered by allergic reasons, sometimes especially in young children triggered by simple respiratory illnesses.
Asthma is a lower respiratory tract disease that manifests with episodic coughing, respiratory distress, rapid fatigue, congestion, and wheezing.
It is believed to start by adding environmental factors to genetic factors that cause sensitivity in the airways. In large part, it is triggered by allergic reasons, sometimes especially in young children triggered by simple respiratory illnesses.
Respiratory distress attacks and coughs of children with asthma are more pronounced at night. An increase in cough with exercise is quite typical in these patients. Childhood asthma may sometimes appear with only recurring coughs without respiratory distress attacks. Asthma attacks can be significantly alleviated with medications used, but the recurrent nature generally continues. Asthma can be roughly allergic (atopic) and non-allergic (nonatopic).
The frequency of asthma in children is approximately around 9-10%. The prevalence of allergic diseases and asthma is increasing in all over the world. Allergic diseases are seen in one out of every 5 children, and asthma disease is seen in one out of every 10 children.
Asthma can occur at any age in children. It usually starts before the age of 5 in about ? ratio.
Generally, patients who have been diagnosed with asthma during childhood recover by approximately P-60 until adolescence. With proper planned treatment, asthma is a disease that can be largely controlled.
If asthma is not properly treated in children, it leads to stunting, limitations in daily activities, school absenteeism, financial and spiritual losses.
The main symptom in asthma is coughing. Cough can take various forms. Mainly increases at night and with exercise (movement). Cough is generally characterized by phlegm. Especially, small children struggle to expel phlegm. Other symptoms seen in asthma are;
What Factors Trigger Asthma Attacks in Children?
Allergens: House dust, house dust mites, pollens, mold spores, animal fur/fiber, etc.
Chemicals: Cigarette smoke, air pollution, perfume, polish, paint, etc.
Infections: Especially upper respiratory tract infections such as sinusitis, rhinitis, flu can trigger infections.
Some Medications: Sometimes, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen may be triggering.
Some Foods: The most well-known trigger foods for asthma attacks are nuts, shellfish, milk and dairy products. Apart from these, many foods that can vary from child to child can cause allergic asthma. Color additives used in desserts, primarily tartrazine, food colorings can trigger asthma attacks.
In addition to these, especially stress and cold weather can also trigger asthma attacks.
There is no definitive test to diagnose asthma in children. It is diagnosed by proving that there are no other diseases that can cause chronic cough other than asthma, through the history of the disease, physical examination findings and asthma outside of asthma (tuberculosis, cystic fibrosis, gastroesophageal reflux, postnasal drip syndrome, chronic sinusitis, adenoid).
Chest X-ray: It is useful to take it to show that there are no diseases other than asthma in chest x-rays instead of diagnosing asthma. If there are no additional problems, there is no significant abnormality in asthma children's chest X-rays. Only thickening of the bronchi and increased amount of air in the lungs can be seen.
Respiratory Tests: Especially a respiratory test in children older than 6 years old can help diagnose asthma. It also provides valuable information in monitoring the response to treatment. The test is performed by rapidly blowing air into a device called a spirometer. During rapid exhalation, airflow speeds in the lungs are measured by a computer connected to the spirometer. The results are compared with age-appropriate values of the patient.
Blood Tests: Looking at the substance immunglobulin E (IgE) that shows whether an allergic structure exists in children suspected of having asthma and counting eosinophils, an allergic cell in allergy research is important. Having a normal IgE level does not mean that the child does not have asthma. It only helps show that there is no allergy.
Skin Tests: It is used especially in children suspected of having allergic asthma to detect respiratory allergens. These tests can be performed from the newborn period onwards.
We must not forget that not every allergic child may have asthma and not every asthmatic child may have an allergy.
If your child has allergic asthma, it is necessary to keep the substance allergen away. Decreasing disease symptoms to a significant extent with environmental measures to be taken in line with your doctor's recommendations is possible.
If asthma in your child is non-allergic, or if environmental measures are inadequate in allergic children, drug treatment can be initiated. In children where drug treatment is considered appropriate, sprays or nebulizers that are drawn into the lungs through the airways and treat the bronchi are used. These drugs reduce the bronchial sensitivity caused by the allergy and are both preventive against attacks and relieving of the child's complaints.
Many drugs used in asthma treatment and have a preventive effect on attacks contain low-dose cortisone. However, these drugs are not likely to enter the bloodstream at a very low rate, so when used in the appropriate dose, they are medicines that do not cause cortisone-related side effects.
In addition, your physician may prescribe a medication called montelukast sodium in the form of powder or chewable tablet containing the drug to reduce the frequency of attacks.
