Childhood Asthma Explained
There are many common illnesses and conditions that occur in the life of a child. Chicken pox, fifth’s disease, strep throat, and others are often experienced by children. However, there is one chronic disease that remains to be quite common among children, and that is asthma. Childhood asthma has been estimated to be one of the leading causes of children missing school. Approximately fifteen million school days are missed on an annual basis due to the complications of childhood asthma. Here, you will learn the many details that surround childhood asthma.
The first thing that parents should understand when it comes to childhood asthma is that the condition is considered to be “chronic”. This basically means that the condition has no present cure. However, the ability to control the condition is quite possible. There are a number of medication and other drug treatment therapies available for the successful control of asthma. In addition to the drug treatment therapies that are available, there are many home care methods used to control the chronic condition of childhood asthma.
In order to properly understand exactly what childhood asthma is, it is imperative to understand the normal functioning of the lungs. As the lungs work, it develops waste. This waste is called “carbon dioxide”. The lungs and airways work together to ensure that the carbon dioxide in the lungs is eliminated by allowing fresh, clean oxygen into the body. This oxygen enters through the nose and mouth area. This helps to ensure that the air that enters the airways and the lungs are properly moistened and that the air is kept warm. If air entered the airways and it was dry and cool, it can damage various components of the respiratory system.
As the air travels into the body, there are many foreign particles that are trapped to ensure that no damage is induced to the respiratory system. These particles include dust, bacteria, various types of chemicals, molds, pollens, and more. The air then proceeds to little branch-like airways that the clean, fresh oxygen is delivered to little sacs that hold air, which are called “alveoli”. The oxygen will encounter mucus that is in the airways to protect them. If a foreign object has managed to make it this far, this mucus will trap the agents to avoid further complication.
Once the foreign particles are trapped by the mucus, the body will push these things back up through the nose and/or the mouth. This is the process in which these items are removed. Normally, a person will either sneeze or cough to assist the body in removing these dangerous particles from the body. Childhood asthma occurs when the airways that we just mentioned become inflamed. When this occurs, the airways, the mucus, and the muscles of the respiratory system begin to overact and cause complications.
In childhood asthma, an attack results when the airways become swollen. This results in the mucus of the airways to produce more and more. The mucus is normally thick and increased drastically. Then, the muscles that surround the airways will then begin to constrict and it will result in many uncomfortable symptoms with the child. This includes tightness in the chest, wheezing, and complications in breathing appropriately, coughing, and even feelings of panic. Children who experiences complications with childhood asthma have also been found to have increased levels of irritability and are quite prone to respiratory infections such as bronchitis, and basic colds and viruses.
When childhood asthma is experienced, it is extremely important to ensure that triggers are discovered and avoided. The following are common triggers that are often experienced with childhood asthma:
- Various types of exercises and sports activities
- Different types of viral and bacterial infections
- Allergies to various items
- Different kinds of irritants, like animal dander and dust
- Weather conditions and/or changes in weather conditions
- Emotions, like excessive crying due to anger and/or sadness
If your child experiences asthma, it is imperative that you properly identify any kind of common trigger and work diligently to ensure that these triggers are completely avoided. Not only will this reduce the onset of asthmatic symptoms, but it will also help to reduce infections, discomfort, and other things.
If you are concerned with childhood asthma, it is imperative that you work diligently to ensure that you learn as much as you possibly can concerning this inflammatory condition. You should understand that while there is no cure for the condition, it can be controlled effectively. By educating yourself, and your child, on childhood asthma you are making way to ensure that little or no symptoms become bothersome for your child.
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