Bronchial Asthma In Children - Signs, Asthma Attack In Children, Treatment And Prevention

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 17:49

Bronchial asthma in children

Due to environmental degradation and a significant increase in respiratory infections, children's immunity is significantly reduced. Because of this, childhood bronchial asthma and various allergic reactions are increasingly common.

Asthma is a chronic disease caused by inflammation of the airways and, as a result, spasm of the bronchi, which begin to secrete large amounts of mucus. This interferes with the normal passage of air through the respiratory tract. Bronchial asthma is classified into two types:

• atopic (allergenic);
• non-atopic (non-allergenic).

The first type of asthma can be caused by exposure to allergen particles: dust, pollen, certain foods, cat or dog hair, perfume, and so on. In children, in 90% of cases, it is the atopic form of the disease that occurs. Non-atopic is quite rare and manifests itself only if the child's body is oversensitive to infectious allergens.

Bronchial asthma has three forms of severity of the course of the disease:

• lung;
• moderate;
• heavy.

Depending on how severe and how often the attacks are, you need to use certain means aimed at stopping them. In most cases, children suffering from a disease such as bronchial asthma have had this ailment from birth in their genes. For every 100 asthmatics, there are at least 60 who have a relative with the same disease. In addition to heredity, health is also aggravated by a bad environment, which negatively affects the genes of the child.

Content:

• Signs and symptoms of asthma in children
• Causes of Asthma in Children
• Asthma attack in a child
• Asthma treatment in children
• Prevention of asthma in children

Signs and symptoms of asthma in children

In children, it can be difficult to correctly diagnose bronchial asthma in time. This is due to the fact that quite often the disease has the same symptoms as the common cold, viral diseases of the respiratory tract. Often, parents do not realize that some of the symptoms indicate a much more serious illness than a simple cold.

However, with bronchial asthma in children, the temperature does not rise, even if the cough is very frequent and dry, without sputum secretion. Before the onset of the symptoms or signs of asthma, there are usually precursors for several days. Their duration is different for each child. At this time, children are often irritated, frightened, are in constant excitement, do not sleep well.

Harbingers proceed as follows:

• initially, after a night's sleep, watery mucus begins to stand out from the nose, because of which the child often sneezes, rubs his nose;
• after a few hours, a mild dry cough begins;
• after lunch or after a day's sleep, the cough becomes noticeably stronger, but already a little wet (in children over 5 years old, the cough becomes more wet by the end of the asthmatic attack);
• the symptoms themselves appear only after 1-2 days, when the cough is paroxysmal.

After the precursors are over, symptoms of an attack appear.

The main signs of bronchial asthma in children of the first year of life:

• severe dry cough, most often paroxysmal immediately after sleep or before it;
• coughing may be lessened if the child is upright or seated. When returning to a horizontal position, the cough becomes intense again;
• shortly before the attack, the baby can be very capricious, cry because of the onset of nasal congestion;
• shortness of breath appears;
• breathing becomes intermittent, and breaths are frequent and short. Inhaled and exhaled air is accompanied by whistling and noise.

Children over one year old, in addition to the above symptoms, also have the following symptoms:

• strong pressure in the chest, inability to take a full breath;
• when you try to breathe through your mouth, a strong dry cough appears;
• prolonged dry cough without sputum separation;
• itching, skin rashes, or watery eyes are atypical signs of asthma;
• coughing attacks begin under the same conditions (a pet is nearby, the use of any paints, on the street or immediately upon coming home, visiting the library, having a fresh bouquet of flowers at home, etc.).

Parents should be careful with such symptoms in a child, monitor body temperature. This is necessary in order to be completely sure that the cough is not caused by a cold at all. If a child's asthma is severe, attacks may occur during the day.

Causes of Asthma in Children

The most important reason for asthmatic attacks is the hyperreactivity of the bronchi in children, they react too sharply to various irritants, especially of an allergenic nature.

All the reasons for the development of the disease are divided into several groups.

For internal factors at the genetic level and health status:

• Gender. Among children, boys are more likely to develop bronchial asthma. This is due to the structural features of the respiratory system and bronchi. The lumens of the bronchial tree in boys are much narrower than in girls;
• The child is overweight or obese. Asthma develops in such children more often due to the higher position of the diaphragm, ventilation of the lungs with this arrangement is insufficient for normal and free breathing. Therefore, overweight children are more likely to suffer from shortness of breath and asthma;
• Heredity. If a child in the family or one of the relatives suffers from asthma attacks or allergies, then the risk of such an illness in the child increases significantly.

Impact of external factors:

• Food. These are mainly nuts, dairy products, citrus fruits, chocolate, honey and fish;
• Mold or dampness on the walls of the apartment;
• Pet hair;
• Allergens that cause an asthma attack when library or house dust gets into the bronchi;
• Pollen. Inhalation of particles of flowering flowers or trees, more often such asthma is seasonal in nature;
• Some medicines. Certain antibiotics, aspirin.

Triggers are the reasons why bronchial spasm occurs:

• traffic fumes;
• excessively cold or dry air;
• strong physical activity that causes shortness of breath;
• viral infections, colds;
• cleaning products, household chemicals;
• strong perfume.

Asthma attack in a child

It is very important for parents to recognize in time an attack of bronchial asthma in their child and stop it as quickly as possible. To get it right, you need to take the following important steps.

Listen to your child:

• Be sure to respond to any complaint about breathing problems or chest pain. Older children who have already experienced similar attacks can tell you when it becomes difficult for them to breathe or just sigh;
• If a child complains of chest pain, do not ignore it. With an asthmatic attack, children may feel that something is constricting in their chest. Soreness in the chest is the result of obstructed airways and increased pressure in the lungs;
• Always remember that young children or those who have never experienced an asthma attack may not always be able to tell you about shortness of breath or pain. The child may get scared and withdrawn, hide from you that something is wrong with him, be ashamed of not being able to explain new sensations. Listen to your children what they are telling you or what they are trying to tell you.

Analyze the baby's breathing:

• Pay attention to the breathing rate, at rest it is about 20 breaths in 60 seconds. If the child breathes more often, ask if it is difficult for him to breathe, if there are any problems with breathing;
• See if the child has to make any effort to breathe while breathing. During normal breathing, the child's shoulders should not be lifted and other muscles should not be used. Pay attention also to the position of the child, he tries to take the most comfortable position for breathing (stoop, put his hands on the table in front of him, with his elbows apart);
• Notice when the baby breathes in to see if he has muscle contractions just below the ribs. Such "retractions" occur during a short breath, when the amount of air that has entered them cannot fill the required space;
• During an attack, the child's nostrils widen when inhaling to draw in as much air as possible. Most often, this symptom is found in children under one year old who cannot tell their mother what exactly worries them;
• Listen for wheezing when the baby breathes. During an asthmatic attack, there is a hissing or hissing sound, accompanied by a slight vibration. Wheezing can occur on exhalation and inhalation with mild to moderate seizures. In case of heavy - only on exhalation;
• The presence of a dry cough also indicates an attack of bronchial asthma. It creates pressure in the bronchi, due to which the airways open slightly, allowing for a while to breathe more or less normally. If a frequent cough predominates at night, this indicates a mild attack. While a prolonged cough speaks of a prolonged attack.

Rate the baby's appearance:

• During an asthmatic attack, most children look the same as during a cold, painful. Therefore, when you see the poor state of the child, pay attention to this and listen to what your maternal instinct tells you;
• With asthma, all the body's forces are aimed at restoring breathing, so the skin at this time can become sticky with sweat and pale. This is due to insufficient oxygen saturation of the blood;
• If the attack is severe, the skin around the baby's mouth and nose may turn bluish. This, in turn, indicates a severe lack of oxygen, this condition of the child requires immediate emergency medical attention.

Help your child:

• If the attack of bronchial asthma is not the first, then there must be inhalers at home, the action of which is aimed at stopping the attack. There must be a person with the child who will help to use the drug or call adults who can do it;
• At the first attack, be sure to contact your attending physician to examine the child and prescribe the necessary medications;
• If the attacks are severe, then hospitalization and medication are necessary.

Asthma treatment in children

Chronic bronchial asthma in a child cannot be cured by any medication. Despite the constant development of medicine, there is no cure. There are only drugs that can stop the attack, destroy the allergen in the body. Moreover, the drugs are prescribed for taking in several stages, with a gradual increase in the dosage of the active substance. The amount of drug taken depends on the severity of the asthma attacks.

Any treatment should take place under the strict supervision of the attending physician. He decides to reduce or increase the dosage of drugs.

Asthma medications

Modern drugs for the treatment of this disease are divided into several groups:

• symptomatic;
• basic.

The first group is designed to relieve bronchospasm and free passage of air through the respiratory tract (bronchodilators). This includes drugs that are taken as an emergency treatment for an asthmatic attack to enable a person to breathe normally. The drugs are used only as needed, but not in any way as a prophylaxis.

The second group of drugs is designed to relieve inflammation, remove the allergen from the body (cromones, anticholinergic and antileukotriene drugs, glucocorticoid hormones). These funds are intended for the permanent treatment or prevention of bronchial asthma attacks. Unlike the first group, they do not have an immediate effect on relieving bronchial spasm and do not relieve suffocation. Basic drugs are aimed at minimizing inflammation in the bronchi, suppressing it, as well as reducing the number of asthma attacks or stopping them completely.

Anti-inflammatory drugs are usually taken for a fairly long period of time. The result from taking basic drugs does not appear immediately, but only after 2-3 weeks of constant treatment.

Glucocorticoid hormones, no matter what form they take (pills or injections), have many unwanted side effects:

• a set of extra pounds;
• decreased immunity;
• violation of hormonal levels;
• gastrointestinal diseases, ulcers, gastritis, etc.

However, modern technologies make it possible to create more and more new drugs that more effectively affect the disease, while the side effects from them are minimal, practically reduced to zero. Inhaled glucocorticoids are by far the best topical drugs. This is a fairly large group of medicines that are made from synthetic materials and come in the form of inhalers or nebulizers.

In the treatment of bronchial asthma, inhaled glucocorticoids have taken a really good step forward. They are well tolerated by almost all children, do not have a large list of side effects, do not cause allergic reactions, and cope well with asthma treatment. They can be used not only by children, but also by adults.

In addition to aerosols, there are also other asthma treatments:

• special physical training;
• breathing exercises using special equipment;
• acupuncture, electropuncture and other methods of reflexology;
• various salt mines, gala chambers and the like.

On the subject: The method thanks to which it is possible to achieve remission in 76% of cases

Specialized schools are being organized for children with asthma attacks to attend during treatment. In these institutions, the child will be told about the measures to prevent seizures, show the correct breathing techniques, help learn about the drugs that are necessary for the treatment and relief of seizures, and also help to choose the correct and most effective treatment and diet.

Prevention of asthma in children

In order to make attacks of bronchial asthma as rare as possible, in addition to direct treatment, prevention of the disease is also necessary. This refers to increasing immunity and improving the general condition of the child. Prophylaxis will be a must in cases where the child has a genetic predisposition to asthma.

What you need to do to prevent the disease:

• Breastfeeding of children from the first days of life and at least up to 1 year. If the mother cannot breastfeed or is forced to stop, then the formula for feeding must be chosen in the most careful way, in consultation with the pediatrician;
• Complementary foods should be introduced only when the doctor permits it. Start introducing new products in strict sequence with the instructions of the pediatrician, avoid allergenic products (chocolate, honey, citrus fruits, nuts);
• Try to get rid of unnecessary "dust collectors" in the house: carpets, thick curtains, tapestries. Try to keep books in a glass bookcase, and not on open shelves;
• Do not have pets to avoid pet hair allergies. Try to give up even seemingly harmless aquarium fish, because the dry food that should be fed to them may contain strong allergenic substances;
• Blankets and pillows should be filled with hypoallergenic fillers;
• Use only hypoallergenic detergents and cleaners at home;
• Ventilate rooms as often as possible in calm weather;
• Do wet cleaning daily without auxiliary cleaning agents;
• Hardening is a good way to boost immunity and promote health.

In addition, a warm and supportive family atmosphere is very important for a child. It is important for children to feel care and support from their parents, from this and diseases will attack much less often.

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Author of the article: Sokolova Praskovya Fedorovna, pediatrician