Often, only one elimination of the action of allergens is not able to completely eliminate the symptoms of asthma, and if the parents have identified the initial manifestations of the pathology in the child, it is necessary to visit a doctor and work out an individual examination and therapy plan with him. It is often difficult to diagnose bronchial asthma in children, as it can manifest itself with various symptoms in complex combinations. To facilitate the task of the doctor and diagnosis, you need to keep a special diary of asthma, in which you need to note the duration, severity and frequency of asthma symptoms in a child, the appearance of cough, note all colds and ailments, changes in breathing.
Tips for parents: how to start fighting asthma
It will be important for parents to provide information to the doctor regarding the presence of an allergic predisposition in children, as well as an allergic history of the family. It is important to indicate the frequency of various diseases and the symptoms of various diseases, when, how and with what children have been sick since birth, and also to note the possible influence of various allergenic and non-allergenic stimuli.
To prevent asthma attacks before they develop, and cause discomfort to the child, you need to find out all sorts of warning signals from the body, indicating the presence of early asthma attacks (precursors). In addition to the development of coughing or wheezing, children develop changes in mood, appearance, complaints of feeling unwell. Such complaints indicate the possible development of an early attack of bronchial obstruction.
Treatment of children: the beginning
Usually, the primary treatment prescribed for children with asthma is to conduct a certain kind of inhalation with drugs. A variant in the control of asthma is the measurement of airflow, which will calculate the volume of air exhaled by a child during breathing. Based on a specific airflow rate, the doctor can assess the condition of the small patient.
After that, the parents, together with the child, will themselves take measurements at least once a day, making sure that the child’s breathing during the treatment is at the appropriate level. With a decrease in the speed of air flow, you can indirectly judge the imminent asthma attack, which gives parents plenty of time to apply the necessary therapeutic measures.
Asthma Medications
Today developed new types they called leukotrienes, they showed a sufficient effect in the process of controlling asthma in treating many patients. Most of these drugs, for example, Singular and Accol have shown their safety and efficacy in children after two years of age. But there are situations when none of the drugs show high efficacy, then you can consult with an allergist about immunotherapy. Studies have shown that with a long course of immunotherapy in order to suppress allergies, signs of asthma can diminish to a low degree of severity, in which many children successfully reduce the load of drugs on the body and lead a completely normal lifestyle.
In children with asthma, the amount of saliva discharge decreases and the gastric acid in the esophagus increases when the medication in the form of inhalers. However, they may be at increased risk of developing gingivitis and caries. But the effect of the medicine against asthma on the oral cavity can be almost completely eliminated by rinsing it with water several times a day.
The problem of allergies in school
Allergic exacerbations in children or the onset of asthma attacks can be controlled during the period when the child is at home. After seven years, most of the time children can spend on school grounds or in extra classes. It is important to know that uncontrolled allergy significantly interferes with schooling a child or staying in extra circles. Due to asthma children can miss a lot of school hours for the year, which will dramatically affect performance. When children are in the classroom, side effects from taking medications, lack of sleep, or a feeling of general weakness and fatigue as a result of exacerbation of allergic diseases can interfere with the child’s normal performance and obtaining the necessary amount of knowledge. To take asthma or other manifestations of allergy under control, first of all, you need to develop, together with an allergist, a disease control plan to stay in school, which will describe the symptoms of the disease that need to be controlled and ways to eliminate them. The asthma elimination plan should indicate the triggering mechanisms of the seizures, as well as information on critical conditions, symptoms and the right steps to take in the event of seizures.
What should be done?
Parents should make sure that the child took all the daily medications prescribed to him with him to school. This will help prevent problems in the classroom. In addition, you need to make sure that emergency preparations in the form of an inhaler or a special syringe with the drug are available at school. It is necessary to discuss the proper use of drugs with the school health worker or any teachers who will be with the child during the training period. If a child has food restrictions, he should not eat lunch in the school canteen, parents collect allowed meals with them and explain the danger of taking those foods in the canteen and their health effects. Tell the class teacher and teachers of these facts at events, field trips and birthdays.
If the child is asthmatic, and the seizures are caused by physical exertion, it is necessary to notify the physical education teacher, indicate the symptoms, the scope of necessary actions during the development of critical situations. It is important to tell the teacher that the child can participate in classes and workouts, but in general his workload should be limited to his physical abilities, he can make them slower or in a smaller volume.