Symptoms and treatment of bronchial asthma in children
Bronchial asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the respiratory tract, which in people with increased sensitivity to triggers is accompanied by bronchial obstruction of varying degrees. The main symptoms of asthma: wheezing attacks, difficulty breathing, wheezing, cough, caused by swelling of the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract. Children with bronchial asthma often suffer from food allergies, eczema and allergic rhinitis. Asthma is considered the most common chronic disease in school-aged children, requiring urgent hospitalization and treatment.
Symptoms of asthma in a child
Common symptoms include wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness.
Children with asthma may experience:
- cough during activity (games, laughing/crying);
- cough at night;
- chronic cough accompanied by wheezing (often this is the only symptom);
- accelerated breathing;
- feeling of weakness/fatigue, passivity in games;
- complaints of tightness in the chest area;
- high whistling sound during inhalation/exhalation;
- noticeable movement of the chest during breathing;
- shortness of breath, feeling of lack of air, difficulty breathing (more often when in contact with allergens).
An asthma attack in a child begins with a cough, then a feeling of lack of air appears, while the bronchi swell and fill with viscous mucus. Depending on the frequency of attacks, asthma can be mild, moderate or severe.
Symptoms of asthma in a child are similar to those of reactive airway disease. Therefore, to make a diagnosis, it is necessary to conduct additional examinations to exclude other pathology that causes respiratory failure.
According to the European classification, the following types of asthma are distinguished:
- atopic (allergic): the "culprit" of the attack is an allergen (plant pollen, animal hair, molds, dust mites);
- infection-dependent: the attack is provoked by a viral or bacterial infection;
- mixed type of asthma.
In addition, there are other types of bronchial asthma: aspirin, hormone-dependent, autoimmune, caused by physical and/or psychoemotional stress.
Factors that cause an exacerbation in an asthmatic child
The main "provocateurs" of the disease are opportunistic microorganisms, household and pollen allergens.
The most common triggers in young children are viral and bacterial infections of the respiratory tract. Exercise can also trigger an attack in a child with uncontrolled asthma. Hyperventilation, which occurs during activity, causes dryness of the mucous membrane of the bronchi, which provokes bronchospasm. Moreover, symptoms can appear both a few minutes after physical exertion and after many hours.
Allergic asthma in children worsens after contact with allergens in the air (plant pollen, house dust). An attack can also be triggered by emotions (stress, excitement), a change in weather (low temperature combined with high humidity, sunny, windy weather, thunderstorms), some medications (antibiotics, vitamins), so an asthmatic child should take medications only after consulting the attending physician . Additional irritants (tobacco smoke, polluted air, strong odors) aggravate existing asthma symptoms.
The causes of asthma in children are not exactly known, since the nature of the pathology is not fully understood.
Increase the risk of the disease:
- hereditary predisposition: the probability of bronchial asthma is 6.6 times higher in children whose parents suffer from asthma;
- diathesis and other allergic diseases in early childhood. Read more about diathesis on our website Dobrobut.com;
- unfavorable ecological situation;
- frequent SARS with complications from the bronchi;
- smoking of a woman during pregnancy;
- obesity in a child.
Diagnosis and therapy of bronchial asthma
In order to diagnose a child with "bronchial asthma", a number of studies are conducted. First of all, these are functional tests of external breathing, which allow you to objectively monitor the degree of bronchial obstruction.
These include:
- spirography - registration of lung volume during breathing;
- pneumotachography – determination of the speed of expiratory air flow in the middle of exhalation;
- peak flowmetry – measurement of peak volume velocity during forced exhalation.
Assessment of allergic status is necessary to confirm sensitization to allergens in the environment. Laboratory tests of blood and sputum will help determine the severity of the disease and the effectiveness of treatment, and an X-ray and CT scan may also be needed.
Treatment of bronchial asthma in children is carried out taking into account the etiological classification of the disease and its severity (degree of bronchial obstruction). The choice of drugs for therapy depends on the age of the patient, the type of asthma, the presence of concomitant diseases, and the previous response of the child's body to treatment. Medicines for the treatment of BA are conditionally divided into two groups: for maintenance therapy (they relieve inflammation, improve the condition of the bronchi during remission) and for stopping attacks.
In order to reduce the frequency of exacerbations, the doctor must identify the allergen so that the child avoids contact with it. If a child suffering from BA has contracted SARS or influenza, treatment should be under the supervision of a doctor. During the period of remission, physiotherapeutic procedures, massage, speleotherapy, sanatorium-resort treatment in conditions of a suitable climate are indicated.
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