Children with Asthma

Living in Florida can be great, especially in the winter when the rest of the country is buried under a blanket of snow. In the hot summer, however, it's another story. Last week, with parts of Florida blanketed not by snow but by smoke, there was a lot of concern over those who suffer from asthma. Asthma is serious. It affects children and adults alike. It is affecting more and more children each year. Cases of diagnosed asthma are on the rise all over the country.

Imagine, if you can, going through your normal routine day. Suddenly, your chest tightens up and breathing is a little difficult. The harder you try to breathe the harder it gets to take air in and get it out. The feeling of panic that begins to overtake you just seems to make matters worse. Now, imagine that you are a child having this problem, or it is your child experiencing this. If this is the first attack, your child has had, you are off to the emergency room for treatment. If this is a regular thing, you may already have a "plan of action" in place - depending upon what severity the attack may be and for how long you and your child have been living with this condition. It is important to have a good line of communication with your physician. It is important to keep track of attacks and what you do about them and what you do about preventing them in the first place.

There are many known triggers of asthma attacks. For some it is exercise, weather, allergens, infections and, to some extent, stress. For those who suffer from asthma it is important to be able to identify what may trigger an attack. Environmental triggers are generally dust, mold, pollens and animals. It is difficult for a parent to explain to a child why they cannot have that cute little kitten. As a child I remember sobbing uncontrollably when my mother sent my friend away with the kitten I had begged and begged for. Well, of course, I had been playing with the kitten and then the sobbing and eye-rubbing caused a severe asthma attack and swollen eyes. It's not easy having to live by the rules, but today's medical advances are making the rules less stringent for some. It is important to note that asthma is not curable, but it is controllable.

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