Asthma is highly under-diagnosed in all age groups and more so in children. It is a common perception by parents that if a child is not breathless then it cannot be asthma.
What are the symptoms of Asthma in children?
The symptoms of asthma in children are quite different from that in adults. Younger children with asthma may not have breathlessness as compared to adults where breathlessness is a common symptom. Older children and teen-age children can have breathlessness especially on exercise like running, climbing stairs etc. Some young children can have such symptoms as well.
The other important symptoms of asthma are persistent cough or non-improvement in cough with the usual medicines, cough recurring very frequently, night time cough, cough on exercise/laughing or any other activity and recurrent wheezing.
It also need to be clarified that many children might not these symptoms regularly but have underlying airway swelling and are extra-sensitive to allergens. These stages also need to be treated for preventing symptoms and flare-ups of asthma.
What are Asthma Flares or Asthma attacks?
A lot of children with asthma will have recurrent episodes of cough with wheezing or chest congestion (sometimes recognized as whistling sounds by parents but many a times recognized by the treating doctor on chest examination with a stethoscope) requiring treatment with antibiotics, syrups and nebulizations. These episodes can be ranging from 4-5/year to daily symptoms. The duration of each episode ranges from 5-7 days to 3-4 weeks.
What is the difference between Asthma, bronchitis and chest allergy?
These are all same things. The correct medical condition is Asthma.
Do we have any test to confirm a diagnosis of Asthma?
The diagnosis of asthma can be confirmed with a Lung Function Testing in children. Spirometry and Impulse Oscillometry are lung function tests which can be easily performed in children suspected to have asthma. For more details on Lung Function Testing in children click here.
How does a proper diagnosis of Asthma help?
Proper diagnosis of Asthma helps in correct treatment of the child. This helps to reduce asthma attacks or flares, daily symptoms, emergency visits and hospitalization. It gives children good exercise capacity and good health.
