By Daniel Lanicek

But how do you know if you should take your child to a doctor to determine if he or she has asthma? There are certain signs you can look for that will help determine if your child may be suffering from childhood asthma. If you detect any of these signs it is strongly recommended that you take your child to a doctor as soon as possible where a proper diagnosis can be made.

Coughing and wheezing are two prominent signs of asthma. Wheezing is like whistling sound when breathing and often occurs after a child has been running and playing. A tight feeling in the chest and shortness of breath after playing or exercise are also signs of asthma and if you suspect your child might have asthma you should pay close attention to your child during playtime and after playtime for these symptoms.

Colds can be difficult for children with asthma as the cold symptoms tent to concentrate on the chest, which affects breathing, and the colds tend to last longer. Children with asthma also tend to have more respiratory illnesses than normal and they are more severe. Often this is an indicator of 'hidden asthma.' Children with hidden asthma often do not show the 'classic' symptoms of asthma such as wheezing and this can make diagnosing asthma very difficult.

Allergies can also spark asthma symptoms and asthma attacks. If you know that your child is allergic to certain allergens whether it is food, pollen, mold, or something else, pay close attention to your child if an unavoidable situation arises that he or she comes in contact with an allergen. Is there an increase in breathing difficulties, wheezing, or coughing? Asthma is often induced by exposure to an allergen and can lead to an asthma attack.

If you detect any symptoms of asthma in your child at any time it is important that your child sees a doctor and is tested for childhood asthma as soon as possible. Your family doctor or pediatrician may refer you to an asthma and allergy specialist. Treatments are available that many times will keep the childhood asthma under control.

Daniel Lanicek is an life long sufferer of asthma on a mission to heighten world awareness of asthma and childhood asthma. By giving parents the information they need childhood asthma does not have to degrade the quality of life for their children. You can learn more about asthma at Asthma Explained.

By D Fraser

It is one of the most common illnesses in children. Childhood asthma is the leading reason children miss school, and experts are telling us that close to 4 million kids under the ages of 17 have had some sort of asthma episode in the past year. Don't you think it's important that you can recognize the symptoms of childhood asthma to help your child if an attach hits? The trouble with childhood asthma is that not all of the symptoms are easy to spot, some quite obvious but others hide under the radar.

Wheezing

High pitched breathing that's very noticeable when a child breaths out. This has to be the most common of all childhood asthma symptoms. It can be severe or mild. It occurs when mucus builds up in the airway, that is already somewhat restricted, making it difficult to breath.

Coughing

Of course not all children will wheeze, often a small percentage will only ever have a persistent cough. Usually most noticeable late in the evenings. This can be a hidden symptom also, as in about 5%25 of cases in childhood asthma coughing is the only symptom they have. If your child appears to have coughing fits after running, crying or high activity there's a chance they might have asthma.

Frequent Respiratory Infections

Children suffering from frequent and difficult to treat respiratory infections, such as bronchitis, and even pneumonia may have childhood asthma. Of course it doesn't have to be as severe as pneumonia they could just continue to battle chronic cold like symptoms. It's easy for these illnesses to attack a child's lungs that are of course already weakened by asthma.

Becoming Lethargic

If you notice a child that used to be very active, loved the outdoors running, sports, biking but now shows signs of not wanting to be outdoors anymore along with shortness of breath and check tightening this could be the reason for lack of exertion. Children fighting asthma find it painful when they exert them selves therefore find it easier to avoid the tightness in the chest and shortness of breath,

The real difficulty with diagnosing childhood asthma is that while some kids might display all symptoms other will report very in frequent battles with them. It's important that parents are familiar with the symptoms and can recognize patterns occurring after activity or at night. Knowing more information and recognizing a potential asthma attack will help you know what to do to reduce the intensity as well as help your family doctor diagnose the issues.

To learn more about childhood asthma symptoms visit our website about medical issues.

By Linda Giles Why a separate title "Childhood asthma"? First, the majority of asthma cases begin in childhood, making it the number one chronic pediatric illness. Second, asthma is more of a syndrome than a disease that affects adults and children differently. General physicians often fail to diagnose it in early stages and in variant forms resulting, in mismanagement, indiscriminate use of antibiotics, antitussives, and antihistamines, etc, that further complicate and prolong the illness.
Third, although many management approaches are similar, there are significant differences in diagnosis and drug handling in the case of children. It is extremely unwise to consider them as mini-adults and half or reduce the dosage of medicine.
In fact, drug doses are calculated based on the surface area of the child, the maturity of renal, liver and other metabolic systems to handle the load.
Finally, the interaction between the physician and the patient's parents is the crucial factor. It is often this relationship - the human factor on which the success or failure of treatment plan hinges. This is certainly true of all chronic illnesses but is especially true in properly managing the child with asthma and the family dynamics that result from such a disease.
The treatment of each child should be individualized and requires treating the patient, the parents and the environment. Despite the antiquated health care provider attitude that "doctor knows best", many parents are well informed through books, Internet, etc, and are keen to participate in treatment decisions. Nevertheless, clinicians have wisdom from years of experience and scientific knowledge from in-depth study. These must be used for developing a partnership approach to treat the child and the family.
The definition of asthma has changed. The emphasis should be on treatment of underlying pathology that produces symptoms rather than just the treatment of symptoms. Despite the frequency with which it occurs (5 to 22 per cent), childhood asthma is unfortunately not diagnosed correctly or soon enough. There is a tendency to relate the symptoms of asthma to infectious processes and mistreat the child with antibiotics.
There are many reasons for this; the main being that childhood asthma manifests differently than the case in adults and needs specially trained pediatricians to deal with it so that there is no delay. The majority of asthma cases occur before two years of age despite the fact that this is the time when attention to a child's care and environment is at its highest. Proper treatment at such an early age may have a great impact on the outcome of treatment. Inflammation, if left untreated early, may result in irreversible changes.
It cannot be overemphasized that on examination asthmatic children may have typical fancies and many peculiarities, but may not have typical features, which are found in adults. Therefore, they deserve specific attention by trained doctors. There are millions of children who have yet to receive the benefit of correct diagnosis and treatment. They are losing their childhood. Let us not make children "Therapeutic Orphans" due to our follies or gains.

Linda Giles also writes on Ringworms. More info: Symptoms-Ringworm-Treatment.com

By Sven Ullmann

Considered to be the most common chronic disease in children, asthma affects over 4 million of children below 18 years old. If your child is among the many affected by this illness, then you must be well-informed and educated in order to manage asthma properly.

Childhood asthma is characterized by the inflammation of the bronchial airways resulting to the production of excessive mucus, swelling and contraction of the respiratory muscles. The sudden change in the respiratory system obstructs the airways making breathing difficult. When this happens, your child will experience shortness of breath punctuated by coughing and wheezing. An asthma attack may be mild, moderate or severe. In any case, it would still be better if an asthma episode is prevented.

The cause of childhood asthma can not be pinpointed to a single factor. Many experts believe that childhood asthma is partially hereditary and have a strong allergic component. The inflammation of the airways may also be caused by allergy, airborne irritants or viral infections. A child with asthma might experience recurrent respiratory infections such as pneumonia or bronchitis. If your child coughs after a strenuous physical activity like running or crying, he should also be evaluated for asthma. Childhood asthma can cause a child to be irritable because of the discomfort from chest tightness and difficulty in breathing.

You would also be surprised that there is a condition called hidden asthma. This kind of childhood asthma is diagnosed by testing the child's pulmonary function. The child will exhibit only mild symptoms that are sometimes unrecognizable.

Childhood asthma is commonly triggered by exercise, infections, allergy, irritants, weather and emotion. The most common trigger among these is exercise affecting nearly 80%25 of all children with asthma. You could prevent an asthma episode by giving your child a bronchodilator medication before any physical activity. Among these physical activities, swimming is the least likely to trigger an asthma attack.

Respiratory infections, caused by a virus, are also one of the most common triggers of childhood asthma. This is why it is recommended for babies to have their flu vaccination. You can also prevent asthma by ensuring our child is well-hydrated. Allergies are also known to trigger childhood asthma attacks. Allergens such as dust, pollen and even food can cause inflammation in the airways resulting to an asthma episode.

Changes in weather conditions can also trigger an asthma attack. There have been numerous studies proving that cold air provokes an asthma episode. Your child should a wear protective mask or even a simple heavy scarf to prevent from inhalation of cold air. Weather conditions like strong winds can scatter dust and pollen in the air increasing the chances of an asthma attack. If you're experiencing weather conditions like this, it might be a smart idea to stay under the protection of the indoors. This way, none of the asthma will flare up.

Lastly, emotional stress caused by anxiety, anger or frustrations are also childhood asthma triggers. Child experiencing emotional stress often breathes rapidly or suffers from hyperventilation which can further worsen an asthma attack. You should try to encourage your child to relax and stay calm. Once your child's breathing returns to normal, you can administer asthma medication.

Article by Sven Ullmann, who runs Deserved Health - a site dedicated to different health related articles. Read more about Asthma In Children.

By Daniel Lanicek

It is estimated that 5 million children in the United States suffer from childhood asthma. The American Lung Association estimates that 4 million children under the age of 18 have suffered an asthma attack in the past year. Asthma is considered one of the most common chronic diseases of childhood and there is no cure. The best that a parent can do is seek medical treatment for the child and try to get the disease under control.
But how do you know if you should take your child to a doctor to determine if he or she has asthma? There are certain signs you can look for that will help determine if your child may be suffering from childhood asthma. If you detect any of these signs it is strongly recommended that you take your child to a doctor as soon as possible where a proper diagnosis can be made.

Coughing and wheezing are two prominent signs of asthma. Wheezing is like whistling sound when breathing and often occurs after a child has been running and playing. A tight feeling in the chest and shortness of breath after playing or exercise are also signs of asthma and if you suspect your child might have asthma you should pay close attention to your child during playtime and after playtime for these symptoms.

Colds can be difficult for children with asthma as the cold symptoms tent to concentrate on the chest, which affects breathing, and the colds tend to last longer. Children with asthma also tend to have more respiratory illnesses than normal and they are more severe. Often this is an indicator of "hidden asthma." Children with hidden asthma often do not show the "classic" symptoms of asthma such as wheezing and this can make diagnosing asthma very difficult.

Allergies can also spark asthma symptoms and asthma attacks. If you know that your child is allergic to certain allergens whether it is food, pollen, mold, or something else, pay close attention to your child if an unavoidable situation arises that he or she comes in contact with an allergen. Is there an increase in breathing difficulties, wheezing, or coughing? Asthma is often induced by exposure to an allergen and can lead to an asthma attack.

If you detect any symptoms of asthma in your child at any time it is important that your child sees a doctor and is tested for childhood asthma as soon as possible. Your family doctor or pediatrician may refer you to an asthma and allergy specialist. Treatments are available that many times will keep the childhood asthma under control.

Daniel Lanicek is an life long sufferer of asthma on a mission to heighten world awareness of asthma and childhood asthma. By giving parents the information they need childhood asthma does not have to degrade the quality of life for their children. You can learn more about asthma at Asthma Explained.