Asthma is the most common condition that kids get – about 1 in 5 kids have it in countries like the US, the UK and Australia. You will know someone that has it.
What Is Asthma?
With asthma, the airways in the lung (called the bronchi) narrow down, making it difficult to get air in and out of the lungs. The bronchi are tubes that take air from your mouth and nose to the bottom of your lungs when you take a breath.
People with asthma breathe normally most of the time. However, when they get asthma, their airways or bronchi clamp down and become inflamed. Not much air can get in and out of their lungs, and it then becomes very difficult to breathe.
What Causes Asthma?
The tendency to have asthma runs in families and many things can cause your airways to constrict down. The most common are:
· Allergies – the most frequent is an allergy to a tiny insect that lives in sheets, blankets and house dust called the “house dust mite”. Asthma can also be caused by allergies to cats or dogs, plant pollens or to drugs like aspirin.
· Viral infections (colds and flu) – this is the most common cause in children & young people.
· Irritants – like cigarette smoke or pollution. It is very dangerous for people with asthma to smoke!
Most young people with asthma experience attacks from time to time – but some have it almost all of the time (called chronic asthma). You are more likely to have it if other people in your family have it, or if you also have hay fever or eczema. You may also have it if you get a bad cough for a couple of weeks after you get a cold, or if you get a cough on cold nights, or when you exercise.
Symptoms Of Asthma
What does it feel like to have an asthma attack? Well four things happen:
· Your chest feels tight and it is difficult to take a breath.
· It’s difficult to run around or do any exercise without getting short of breath – especially when the air is cold at night.
· Your chest might make a wheezy noise when you breathe. This is what your doctor would hear when he listens to your chest with a stethoscope.
· You might have a cough. Some people with asthma never wheeze but only ever get a cough. The cough mostly comes with exercise or on cold nights.
How Do You Treat Asthma?
Luckily asthma is usually very easy to control. Try prevention first.
· Control house dust mites by cleaning and changing bed-clothes regularly or by using special treatments to kill the little mites;
· Avoid animals or plants that give you asthma;
· Make sure that no one smokes inside the house;
· In some people, stopping eating wheat or dairy products can help.
Unfortunately in most people, it is difficult to completely prevent their asthma, so they need to use medications to treat it.
There are two types of medication. ‘Relievers’ work by opening up the airways to allow you to breathe more easily. These drugs are given in the form of an inhaler (puffer), and work straight away to open up the airways – types include Salbutamol (Ventolin), Atrovent (ipratropium), and Salmeterol.
By the way, if you don’t have asthma, using your friend’s inhalers is pretty silly as it will have no effect at all.
The second types are ‘preventatives’ which work by preventing the airways clamping down. They include brown inhalers which are steroid medications (such as Beclamethasone, Pulmicort or Flixotide) and tablets like Leukatriene inhibitors such as Montelukast or Zafirleukast.
These ones work by preventing asthma – and need to be taken regularly every day. If you miss doses, they probably won’t work at all.
Some people believe in other treatments for asthma such as naturopathy and Chinese medicines, however, there is no proof either way they do, or do not, work
These treatments are usually not dangerous – but if you have really bad asthma and stop your medications to try something else, you may get a very bad attack of asthma which could be dangerous.
How Can Your Doctor Help?
If you are worried you might have asthma, see your doctor for a check-up and a breathing test to find out.
Children and young people with asthma should see their family doctor or paediatrician about every 3 months or so. Your doctor will listen to your chest with a stethoscope to see if they can hear any wheezes (a sign that you have some asthma there at the time even if you don’t realise it).
Your doctor should also test your lung function with a breathing test (Peak Flow Meter or Spirometer).
If you have asthma, your doctor should also give you a “crisis plan” – a written plan of what to do when an asthma attack occurs (so that you and your parents know when to change the medications and when to go to hospital etc). If you don’t have one of these, ask your doctor.
