Asthma or not? Cough in children with asthma

Asthma or not? Cough in children with asthma

A cough is likely due to asthma if it refuses to go away for days, weeks, or months, is worse at night or early in the morning, or if it comes and goes without notice.

A cough is even more likely due to asthma if the child also has a chronic rough rash called eczema or if a parent or other close relative has asthma.

Children and adolescents can develop asthma at any age. Regardless of the age at which such a cough began, recognizing that the child may be suffering from an asthma condition is essential.

Unfortunately, many parents are reluctant to accept a diagnosis of asthma, a dilemma that leads to unnecessary pain and suffering, delays in treatment, and even death. I have good news for parents who cannot deal with asthma: a cough due to asthma improves quickly with appropriate medication. Additionally, children can outgrow their asthma.

Why people suffer from asthma

People who suffer from asthma have delicate, hypersensitive lungs, just as people who suffer from eczema have sensitive skin.

A sensitive lung can go into spasm or constriction at any time. Cramps narrow small air passages, limiting airflow in the lungs and suddenly making it difficult for people with asthma to breathe. During such an episode of asthma attack, patients may experience shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing, rapid breathing, and chest tightness or discomfort.

Wheezing is a high-pitched musical sound that occurs in the chest of someone suffering from an asthma attack. If it's loud, people nearby can hear it. but at other times it can only be heard by doctors listening to the chest with a stethoscope.

Asthma triggers

Catarrh or runny nose with its accompanying viral infection, cold weather, pets such as cats and dogs, dust, dirt, cockroaches, pollutants, paint fumes, perfumes, mold, grass, pollen and cigarette smoke can trigger already sensitive lungs into an episode of coughing and wheezing. Movement and emotions also trigger coughing and shortness of breath in people with sensitive lungs.

Cough as a sign of asthma

Coughing, a common problem, is one of the many signs of asthma. Parents and caregivers take children to doctors if their cough lasts for many days and does not improve with cough syrup. A cough is disruptive to children; It can prevent them from sleeping at night or during the day, make them vomit, make them fear eating, and even cause them to lose weight. When a child's cough and fever go together, a more sinister illness like pneumonia comes to mind.

Asthma severity

When evaluating a child with asthma, it is important to assess the severity of symptoms. Some children have the intermittent form of asthma while others have the persistent form.

People with irregular forms of asthma occasionally experience symptoms. Patients with the persistent form experience symptoms more frequently, usually weekly or daily and sometimes even several times a day.

Examination of children with asthma

Doctors look for signs of distress when they have a child with an acute asthma attack. A patient's chest muscles moving in and out, or "pulling back," signals air hunger and distress.

If there is no obvious wheezing, chest retraction, or spontaneous coughing, I tend to ask the child if they are old enough and comfortable enough to cough loudly so I can hear them

You can often tell where a cough is coming from by the sound: from the throat or throat or deep in the chest. The latter would mean that the lungs are the cause of the problem and therefore indicate asthma. This distinction is important.

Respiratory rate, temperature, pulse rate and oxygen saturation are some of the vital signs obtained at the time of the initial examination.

Diagnosis of asthma

Doctors can diagnose asthma in a patient with a cough by listening to the chest with a stethoscope. A high-pitched musical sound known as wheezing indicates this condition. If a patient's symptoms are relieved with the use of a bronchodilator such as albuterol, the diagnosis is far from certain.

Asthma medications

Medicines used to treat asthma, called bronchodilators, are designed to open the narrowed airways so that air can reach the lungs. Another group of medications called “inhaled steroids” reduce mucus production and inflammation in the small air passages. People with frequent asthma attacks should take both medications. Doctors must explain details of use.

Asthma control and prevention

Prevention is the key to controlling asthma. People suffering from this disease should avoid known environmental triggers. Some of the well-known allergens - dust, cats, dogs, smoke, cockroaches, etc. - have already been mentioned. Different asthmatics can have different triggers.

An asthma action plan is a series of steps that, when completed by physicians, inform patients about how to use their medications before and during symptoms and what to do if symptoms do not improve. There is also a section that teaches users how to control things in their environment that make their asthma worse.

Why do people die from asthma?

Two years ago, the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) in the US reported that 187 children under the age of 18 had died as a result of asthma that year.

I suspect that the number of children who die of asthma every day in the inner cities of underdeveloped countries like Onitsha in Nigeria, where pollution is on every street corner and people mix air with smoke, dirt and dust, is innumerable.

Simple measures like avoiding asthma triggers and using asthma medication promptly would prevent many unnecessary deaths. Failure to recognize the disease is the most heartbreaking and obvious reason for the high numbers. Additionally, lack of access to urgently needed medications and delay in seeking expert medical intervention are often to blame.

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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease, but is based solely on the author's experience. Readers should consult their physician before implementing any of the suggestions.

Inspired by Anselm Anyoha