by Kendra Songer

Created on: April 27, 2008

Asthma has become the most common chronic illness in children. Approximately 6 million children in the United States have this disease and it is the third ranking cause for hospitalization in this country. Early detection can help lessen the severity of attacks and help prevent future ones.

Parents may have difficulty detecting asthma in their children because most children have their first symptoms by age 5. If asthma develops when a child is an infant or toddler it can be even harder for parents to determine if their child has a cold or signs of asthma. Since some children are at a higher risk of developing the disease then others the first step should be to figure out if your child is at risk. The risk factors include:

* Family history of allergies/asthma
* Exposure to cigarette smoke
* Having allergies
* Low birth weight
* Having frequent respiratory infections
* Living in a low-income environment
* Being male
* Being African-American

Secondly it is important to pay attention to early signs or symptoms. Frequent coughing spells occurring at night, after exercise or while laughing. Sometimes in mild asthma coughing is the only symptom present. Other symptoms can include less energy, rapid breathing, chest tightness, complaint of chest hurting or feeling breathless, wheezing or retractions during breathing (retractions are when the skin appears to be sucked in between or around the bones of the chest). Oftentimes you can hear the child wheeze or whistle when they breathe out or if you put your ear to the child's back you may be able to hear a crackling sound. If your child has these symptoms discuss them with your pediatrician. Most children with asthma receive care from a regular pediatrician and will not need a specialist.

Frequent respiratory infections can be an early indicator of asthma, or may even trigger a child's first asthma attack. Therefore it is also important to know what symptoms to watch for that may indicate something serious. Call your Dr. immediately if child has these symptoms. Symptoms may be similar to those above including:

* Rapid breathing (in an infant normal breathing is 40 breaths per minute, in a child 1-5 years normal breaths per minute is 20-30, and for 6-12 years normal is 12-20) A fever can cause temporary rapid breathing, but the rapid breathing should go away when the fever goes down.
* Chest tightness to the point where the child cannot speak or talk, or is struggling for each breath
* Continuous coughing that interrupts sleep or play that is not improved with medicine
* Wheezing that can be heard across the room
* Child looks or acts very sick or lethargic.
* Infant/child has blue lips or fingertips or child has passed out
* If your child has asthma medication and it is not improving symptoms within 20 minutes or is needed more frequently than 4 hours.

Once it has been determined that a child has asthma the best medicine is prevention. One of the easiest ways to prevent future attacks is to discover what triggers the child's asthma and avoid the triggers as much as possible. Triggers can include colds/viruses, allergies, smoke, air pollution, or exercise. Regular visits with your child's pediatrician can also determine what medicines might be needed to help control the disease and treat attacks when they occur. Flu shots are generally recommended for asthmatics every year. In addition some natural medicines have been thought to help, but it is best to consult a pediatrician or naturapath about using those remedies.

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