Symptoms of asthma in children

Tuesday 25,
JULY
2017
Symptoms of asthma in children

Asthma is a disease that causes inflammation and narrowing of the bronchial tube, the channel through which air enters and leaves the lungs. The symptoms of asthma in children can occur at any age, however many cases start before the 10 years old. To improve the quality of life of the child and avoid serious complications it is essential to control and treat the symptoms of the disease, the most common are those that we explain in this post.

According to the Spanish Association of Pediatrics (AEP), asthma is one of the most frequent diseases in children, although many of them improve with the time. The symptoms of asthma can vary from child to child, being mild in some of them or lasting several days or weeks in others. They can occur frequently or only when certain triggers are present and a risk factor for the child is that the father or mother has asthma.

The most common symptoms of asthma in children are:

  • Difficulty breathing. The most well-known symptom of asthma in children and babies are episodes of difficulty breathing that cause extended breathing, wheezing...and it is easy to recognize them even in the youngest children.
  • Cough. Dry and persistent cough is another of the most frequent symptoms of asthma. It can manifest in frequent intervals of time and it usually occurs at night, when the child plays sports, cries, laughs...
  • Wheezing. Another common symptom of this disease is that children wheezing when they expel the air while they are breathing.
  • Retraction. When children have difficulties to breath they need to make a greater effort to inhale and exhale the air. In this case you may notice how the lower rib is marked, just above the abdomen, which is known as a subcostal retraction. If the effort is even greater, the intercostal retraction takes place, and all the spaces between the ribs are marked. The most extreme situation, supracostal retraction, causes that the sternum and neck muscles are marked.
  • Dyspnea. Children with asthma may also experience a feeling of shortness of breath, which is called dyspnea. This symptom may appear when the child performs an activity that involves a physical effort or even being at rest.

The most common symptoms of asthma in children

How to prevent asthma in children

Babies are more likely to suffer from respiratory problems due to the immaturity of their airways and their lungs, so it is important to prevent risk factors even since pregnancy.

The Spanish Association of Pediatrics (AEP) advises to follow the next recommendations to prevent asthma in children:

  • Administer the treatment that the doctor has recommended to the child to prevent asthma.
  • Keep the children away from tobacco smoke and contaminated air to prevent that their lungs become irritated.
  • Colds are the most frequent asthma triggers, so it is convenient that children wash their hands frequently to avoid contagion.
  • Try to get the child to lose weight, in case of obesity or overweight.
  • Avoid contact with the allergen, in case the child has any allergies. Allergy testings could be performed to the child to rule out or detect allergies.

Liip Smart Monitor detects when an asthmatic crisis occurs, measuring the blood oxygen saturation of the child, one of the key parameters for detecting this disease, according to the Spanish Association of Pediatrics (AEP). This smart monitor detects changes in the child's blood oxygen and provides the pediatrician information to pinpoint the diagnosis and severity of the asthmatic crisis.

We hope this post helps you to detect the symptoms of asthma in children easily. If you have any doubt we will be happy to assist you.

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