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Breathe Easy -- Asthma is
a Treatable Illness By Carma Haley
Childhood asthma is not a disorder or a handicap; it is a treatable illness that affects about 4 million children in the United States alone.
Children who have asthma can function just as normally as those who do not, as long as certain precautions are taken. Asthma can be treated, controlled and kept at bay when various guidelines are followed, according to Mount Sinai Hospital in Chicago. Once identified, these guidelines can help both children who suffer from asthma -- and their parents -- breathe a little easier.
Asthma is a disease that causes the airways in the lungs to become narrow when they respond to various substances. As the airways narrow, it becomes difficult for a person to breathe or "catch his breath." As a result, the child may hunch over, arch his back, wheeze, cough or grasp at his/her chest in an attempt to get more air into their lungs. As a result of the inability to breathe, children may become scared and may panic, resulting in an increased difficulty to breathe. It is a horrifying -- and sometimes fatal -- experience.
According to Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, asthma is the leading cause of chronic illness in childhood. It is estimated to occur in 5 percent to 10 percent of children at some time during their development. Prior to puberty, twice as many boys as girls have or develop asthma, and asthma is 10 times more likely to occur in inner city African American children then Latinos or Caucasians.
Asthma can strike at any age but most often starts in childhood, according to Mount Sinai Hospital. One of the most common early indications of childhood asthma is the presence of frequent chest colds. If a child has frequent chest colds, parents should seek testing for asthma as an early diagnosis, which can prevent complications and attacks from occurring. Testing includes a family history to inquire about relatives who suffer from asthma as well as a medical questionnaire that asks about nighttime cough, episodes of shortness of breath as well as how much exercise or activity a child can participate in before losing his/her breath. These questions are more easily answered if parents begin keeping a log or journal related to any breathing problems as soon as asthma is suspected.
