Bronchial asthma in a child: description, information

Establishing diagnosis

Perhaps, almost every mother is familiar with this situation: a cold child wakes up at night from the fact that it is hard for him to exhale. In such cases, it is often very difficult to determine whether a child has bronchial asthma or a common cold. How to understand whether it is possible to rely on the treatment prescribed by a pediatrician for children, or it is necessary to immediately register for an appointment with a pulmonologist? To understand this, you should know a few facts about this disease.

Who is affected by asthma?

First of all, it should be noted that any allergic disease (including bronchial asthma) is more likely to develop in the so-called "atopic", that is, a child already suffering from dermatitis or allergic rhinitis or having relatives with similar diseases. Bronchial asthma in a child, transmitted by inheritance, in medicine is called exogenous. Typically, it can provoke all kinds of allergens: dust mites, fungi, saliva and particles of pet hair, pollen.

Diagnostics

Asthma in a child is diagnosed by taking a skin allergic test (it is made by an allergist doctor). Another type of disease is endogenous asthma. It can develop against the background of bronchitis and even common cold, but it should be noted that this variant of the disease is more common in smokers.

How to identify the disease by yourself?

Bronchial asthma in a child can be recognized by parents on the following grounds: a kid often suffers from bronchitis, suffers from a dry cough that intensifies at night, his breathing becomes wheezing. All these symptoms may disappear when treated with bronchodilators. If the child suffers from dyspnea against the background of acute respiratory viral infection, it is necessary, first of all, to exclude the possibility of sinusitis and frontalitis (it is best to undergo an examination with an otolaryngologist). If night attacks of a cough are repeated with an alarming frequency, you need to visit a pulmonologist, take all the tests and undergo an examination of the respiratory volume.

How to cure asthma?

The first and mandatory condition of treatment is compliance with the hypoallergenic regimen. Parents should take care of the cleanliness of not only the surrounding objects, but also the air in the apartment. All contacts with possible allergens should be avoided. The kid will have to give up for a while the soft toys and feather pillows. It is better to isolate pets. In addition, special attention should be paid to the patient's diet: strictly prohibited foods are all citrus and chocolate. As the most common drugs can be called various inhaled cromoglykates and bronchodilators. Hormonal steroids can affect the condition of the child not in the best way and therefore are used only in those cases when the disease takes very serious forms and can endanger life.

Thus, bronchial asthma in a child is not a verdict. Modern medicine offers a large number of treatment options that do not affect the development of the baby. The disease is fairly easy to control and, in principle, can be cured completely.