According to a 2007 article on the American Academy of Pediatrics website, asthma affects about 6 million children under age 18 in the United States, making it the most common chronic childhood disease. Most of the time, it develops before age 5, but asthma can crop up at any time in a child's life even if he hasn't previously experienced symptoms. The cause of asthma is currently unknown, but advances in treatment have made most cases of childhood asthma controllable.
Symptoms
In kids with asthma, the airways become blocked from swelling, narrowing the passageway that normally allows air into the lungs. This results in symptoms of shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing and chest congestion. Kids with asthma may also experience difficulty sleeping, excessive coughing during a respiratory illness or difficulty breathing during exercise.
Triggers
Asthma attacks in children occur when something triggers the airway to overreact and swell. These triggers are different for different individuals. Food allergens such as those in nuts, cow's milk or wheat may trigger asthma in some kids. Mold, pet dander or dust are also common triggers in children. Certain viruses, such as respiratory syncytial virus and parainfluenza virus, can be the cause of an attack, and exercising in the cold may lead to asthma in others. Secondhand smoke often contributes to asthma attacks in children, especially in those with a parent who smokes.
Treatment
Because each child reacts differently to asthma, treatment should be discussed with a doctor and tailored to the particular child. Symptoms during a mild asthmatic episode, may go away on their own without treatment. Some kids may use quick-relief medication in the form of an inhaler when they feel an asthma attack coming on. When long-term medications are needed, they must be taken daily, and are aimed at preventing asthma attacks, or reducing their severity when they do occur. These include bronchodilators, corticosteroids, leukotriene modifiers and anti-inflammatories.
Complications
A severe asthma attack, defined as one in which the child has difficulty breathing or experiences wheezing and rapid breathing, can quickly become fatal if it progresses to the point where the child cannot breathe at all. Emergency treatment should be started as soon as the child starts to have trouble breathing to avoid having it progress to this point. Even in kids who don't have attacks requiring hospitalization, the bronchial tubes may narrow permanently, causing lifelong difficulty.
Prevention
Avoiding triggers is the main method of preventing asthma attacks in kids. This includes keeping children away from anyone who smokes as well as removing allergens from the home. A healthy diet may help prevent the development of asthma in kids. In a June 2010 study in "Thorax," an offshoot publication of the "British Medical Journal," researchers found that a diet containing fruit and fish can help prevent asthma, while a diet containing three or more hamburgers a week led to a greater incidence of asthma attacks.
