Childhood asthma will not cause lung damage if it is treated and well-controlled. Lungs are damaged if asthma is not managed properly, with poor compliance with medications and health checkups. Damaged lungs due to poor asthma control are also known as airway remodeling. Lungs are scarred, poor air entry and asthma medications will no longer be effective once the lungs are damaged. Do not worry and panic as this is preventable. Make sure that your kids are taking their meds properly and regularly. Other than that, please bring your child to follow-up for continuous monitoring of his or her asthma. Micare is a platform where you can book an appointment for health checkups in Malaysia.
The symptoms of asthma are:
- Wheezing
- Cough
- Shortness of breath
- Rapid breathing
Asthma symptoms are typically worse in early mornings and at night or known as diurnal variation. Asthma has a list of possible triggering factors. This means that certain factors may cause acute asthma attacks. The triggering factors are:
- Dust
- Pollen
- Cold weather
- Cold drinks
- Certain foods like fruits
- Cigarette smokes
- Upper respiratory tract infections
- Exercise
- Dust mites
- Cockroaches
- Molds
- Pets dander
- Irritants like perfume, hairsprays, nitrogen dioxide, or paint
- Stress
Asthma is one of the major illnesses affecting children across the world. It is a chronic disease that not only affects children but also adults despite their gender, race, or nationality. Up to 18% of children in a particular country suffer from asthma. In the United States of America, around 9 million kids are living and battling asthma, while at least 18 million were told to have asthma.
Asthmatic patients usually have a family history of asthma or allergy. This shows that genetic factors play an important role in the development of this disease. Prevention is better than cure. That phrase is the key to maintain your children’s health in dealing with asthma. Asthma patients must avoid all the identified triggers to prevent them from developing any sudden asthma attack. The triggers for an asthma attack are pet dander, pollen, dust, smoke from cigarettes or vehicles, some fruits or food, and airway infections.
The number of new cases of asthma especially among children is increasing in certain countries including China. Certain factors are identified to be the culprit behind the increasing new asthma cases. The factors are:
- Increase exposure to an indoor allergen
- Air pollution
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Diet
- Climate
- Toxic agents in the environment
Asthma’s diary is where you record all the details about your child’s conditions in between follow-ups. It must include the daytime symptoms, nighttime symptoms, exacerbating factors, triggers, needs for inhalers, and also PEFR readings. Physicians will educate you on how to consume or take each medication properly. Certain medications like inhalers may require good techniques for optimum effect. During follow-up, the physician will review the diary to help in the overall treatment plan for your child.
Reduce consumption of fresh food, vegetables, fruits, and a well-balanced diet is also said to cause more asthma cases. Fast food and snack have become more popular, cheaper, and readily available for households to consume including children. This negative lifestyle is causing a tremendous impact on human health and children’s well-being. Toxic substances in our environment can also contribute to more new asthma patients. Toxic agents like environment disrupting compounds (EDCs), parabens, bisphenol a (BPA), and triclosan are some examples of toxic agents that exist within our environment and possess a threat to our children.
Entertainment via television, computers, tablets, and other modern gadgets are holding children more indoor sitting without enough physical activity. This lack of activity and hours of sitting affects lung function and capacity. Indirectly, a sedentary lifestyle may cause more children to suffer from asthma.
