| Asthma is an inflammation of the bronchial tubes, the airways leading to the lungs. In an attack, which can be very frightening, the tubes narrow so that it is difficult to breathe out. Asthma is on the increase, with one child in seven affected. It is more common in boys.
Symptoms, which are often worse at night, include
Runny nose
Wheezing
Coughing
Sometimes the child needs hospital treatment.
Triggers
A virus such as the common cold
Cold air
Emotion or excitement
Exercise
Cigarette smoke
Air pollution, for example car exhaust fumes
Allergy to house dust mites, pollen, food
(more rarely) allergy to food or medicine
Try and note if attacks occur after exercise or excitement, or after contact with allergens such as house dust and pollen or with irritants such as cigarette smoke or car exhaust fumes.
Treatment
Talk to your doctor if you think your child has asthma. Many doctors’ surgeries now run asthma clinics, where specialist nurses help parents to treat their child’s asthma. Your doctor will refer your child to a hospital clinic if necessary.
Steroids: Your doctor may prescribe corticosteroids. These can be given by inhaler, or in tablet form for severe asthma attacks. They are similar to chemicals produced naturally in the body. They are completely different from the anabolic steroids sometimes used by bodybuilders. Most children use inhaled steroids which go straight into the airways, so that very little reaches the rest of the body. Doctors are careful to prescribe the lowest dose needed to control the child’s asthma. Low doses do not cause unwelcome side effects or affect growth.
Occasionally, where an asthma attack is severe, the child may be given a short course of steroid tablets (usually from 3–5 days). Where needed, this is the best way to bring symptoms under control quickly. However, as these tablets can lower the body’s resistance to chicken pox, a protective injection called Zoster Immune Globulin (ZIG) is available for children who come in contact with chicken pox within a month or so of steroid tablet treatment.
Inhalers: There are two main types of inhaler, which work in different ways. Relievers (usually in a blue inhaler) are medicines to take immediately when breathing difficulties begin. They relax the tightened muscles around the airways and relieve spasm, making breathing easier.
Preventers (usually in brown, white, red or orange inhalers) reduce the risk of severe asthma attacks. Used daily, they protect the lining of the airways, so that it is less sensitive to asthma ‘triggers’.
Spacers and nebulisers may also be used to give medicine more efficiently or in a higher dose during a severe asthma attack. A spacer is a clear plastic container with a mouthpiece at one end, and an opening to fit an aerosol metered-dose inhaler at the other end.
To find out more, you can speak to a specialist asthma nurse on 0845 701 0203 (local rate) between 9am and 7pm weekdays, or visit the
National Asthma Campaign or National Asthma Campaign (Scotland) website.
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