Understanding and Managing Childhood Asthma

Watching your child struggle to breathe is gut-wrenching for any parent. While asthma isn’t curable, it’s certainly manageable with the help of the team at Mansoor Pediatrics. Our dedicated team of Pediatricians are experts in diagnosing asthma in children and finding just the right treatment. Whether your child has already been diagnosed or if you suspect your child has asthma, call the office or make your first appointment online.

Symptoms of Asthma in Children

Asthma causes certain symptoms that are often obvious for parents. If your child is asthmatic, he or she may:

• Cough regularly, especially at night
• Get frequent chest colds
• Wheeze when breathing
• Have difficulty breathing
• Regularly take shallow fast breaths
• Complain of chest tightness
• Feel weak or tired

Diagnosing Asthma in Children

It depends on your child’s age, since it’s tricky to diagnose asthma in children under five. Infants, toddlers, and very young children are still developing, so their bronchial tubes are small and narrow to begin with.

Nevertheless, this is also the age bracket where children tend to show symptoms. With a little inflammation, your child may show signs of asthma, but you could find out that it’s just a minor chest cold.

Sometimes just the opposite occurs: your child gets diagnosed with a chest cold, but it never really goes away. This is why asthma is often overlooked or misdiagnosed in small children.

The diagnosis process for young children often involves monitoring their symptoms and some lab work to check for inflammation.

Your child may also go through allergy testing to see if an allergen is triggering asthmatic symptoms. Sometimes treatment is as simple as removing that allergen from your child’s diet or environment.

For children over five, the diagnosis is usually a little simpler since they can describe their symptoms. Your pediatrician might have to administer a pulmonary function test to measure breathing. They simply breathe into a special tube for this test.

Laboratory work to check for inflammation, allergy testing, or chest X-rays are common diagnostic tools your pediatrician might suggest.

Treatments for Childhood Asthma

It depends on your child’s age and the severity of his or her symptoms. Your dedicated pediatrician at Pediatrics of Mansoor Pediatrics puts together a custom asthma treatment plan for your child, then schedules routine follow-up appointments as needed to monitor your child’s progress.

Typical asthma treatment and management plans include:

• Avoiding allergen triggers
• Inhaled medications
• Nebulizer solutions
• Dry powder inhalers
• Controller medications
• Rescue medications