Asthma is one of the most common respiratory diseases in children. It can cause symptoms such as difficulty breathing, wheezing, persistent coughing, difficulty speaking, or participating in daily activities. If asthma is extremely severe, it can pose a life-threatening risk to children, requiring timely emergency care to avoid unfortunate incidents.
1. What is bronchial asthma in children?
Bronchial asthma, also known as asthma, is a chronic disease related to the respiratory system. This disease can occur at any age, especially in children aged 2 to 10 years.
Asthma often increases mucus production in the bronchial membranes and causes bronchospasm, leading to difficulty breathing and wheezing in young children. Most asthma attacks tend to “strike” at certain times, such as during unpredictable weather changes, seasonal transitions, or when children accidentally come into contact with allergens like pollen, dirt, viruses, bacteria, tobacco smoke, pet dander, etc. Other cases may trigger bronchial asthma when consuming certain high-risk foods that provoke asthma attacks, including shellfish, crabs, seafood, dairy products, or eggs.
2. Levels of Bronchial Asthma in Children
In general, bronchial asthma in children has four main levels, with different signs and symptoms for each level, including:
- Level 1: The identifying sign is the appearance of intermittent asthma attacks in young children. This means asthma attacks occur very infrequently, less than once a week, primarily during the day. Bronchial asthma at level 1 does not significantly affect the child’s activities.
- Level 2: Mild asthma, also mainly occurring during the day and less than once a week.
- Level 3: Moderate asthma, with bronchial asthma symptoms in children potentially appearing every day, significantly affecting the child’s activities.
- Level 4: Severe asthma, with symptoms appearing more frequently and lasting longer, especially at night, disrupting the child’s daily activities and causing many difficulties.
3. Causes of Bronchial Asthma in Children
Bronchial asthma in children occurs due to a combination of various influencing factors, among which the most typical are allergens, including:
- Cigarette smoke: This is considered the leading cause of asthma and other respiratory diseases. Even children who have never had bronchial asthma have a high risk of suddenly experiencing asthma attacks if they are frequently exposed to cigarette smoke.
- Dust: Children who have to live in environments with high levels of dust are at increased risk of developing asthma compared to others.
- Infectious respiratory diseases: including sinusitis, rhinitis, tonsillitis, pharyngitis, or adenoid inflammation.
- Allergens: Such as pet hair, pollen, feather bedding, gasoline odor, paint smell, or metal dust can highly trigger asthma symptoms in young children.
- Strong-smelling substances: Including spray paint, perfumes, insect repellent.
- Some types of food: For example, additives used in food preservation can also trigger asthma attacks.
- Excessive physical activity: When children are active for an extended period, or overexert themselves, it can trigger asthma attacks.
- Additionally, some other factors that are not allergens also contribute to triggering asthma attacks in young children, including genetics or psychological factors (such as trauma, anxiety, stress).
4. Symptoms of bronchial asthma in children
Children with mild asthma usually exhibit symptoms mainly consisting of coughing or wheezing sounds in the lungs, typically occurring during physical exertion, such as playing, running, or crying.
In moderate asthma, children will show symptoms like coughing, interrupted speech, beginning to notice symptoms such as chest hollowness, retraction of the chest wall, supraclavicular indentations, accompanied by wheezing sounds in the lungs.
In cases of severe asthma, common symptoms include coughing, difficulty breathing, flaring nostrils, chest retractions, cyanosis, difficulty speaking, prominent supraclavicular fossa, and loud wheezing in the lungs.
When asthma progresses to a very severe stage, usual manifestations include an inability to breathe, cry, or talk, and the wheezing sound in the lungs has disappeared. Furthermore, asthma attacks may occur consecutively for several days without signs of stopping unless timely intervention is taken. If a child presents these symptoms along with fever, it is highly likely that they have upper or lower respiratory tract inflammation. The main cause could stem from infections by various viruses or bacteria.
5. Preventing wheezing in children with asthma
Medical experts often recommend that children with asthma should not consume a lot of candies containing chemical flavor enhancers, or drinks and sodas containing preservatives or artificial sugars.
To reduce wheezing and other symptoms of asthma, you can provide the child with more essential minerals such as vitamin C, magnesium, and selenium, which are often found in fresh fruits and vegetables or natural mineral water.
When a child is having an asthma attack, it is crucial not to bathe the child immediately, and to avoid having them sit or play in breezy areas to prevent worsening the asthma episode.
In addition, children with asthma should also limit the use of chalk, or exposure to chemicals, including powdered soap, cosmetics, insecticides, pesticides, or fuels.
Furthermore, asthma symptoms in young children can be managed and treated with prescription medication from a specialist doctor. On the other hand, the medication used for children with asthma will differ in dosage and usage compared to asthma medication for adults. Therefore, parents should not purchase asthma medication for their children without the guidance of a doctor. This not only makes the condition harder to treat but also negatively impacts the child’s health.
For older children with bronchial asthma, parents need to regularly comfort, encourage, and provide more affection to their children, and should not make them feel sad, depressed, or anxious, as psychological factors can trigger asthma attacks. If a child exhibits symptoms such as extreme shortness of breath, bluish lips, inability to cry, difficulty speaking, or inability to speak; you need to take the child to the hospital immediately for timely emergency care.
