Parents and Schools Adjust to More Children with Asthma

Seeing their child gasping for air, unable to breathe, is one of the most alarming sights that a parent will experience. But according to medical research, more and more parents are experiencing this fear as the number of children suffering from asthma continues to increase each year. While the reasons for the increase are still unknown, researchers have found that certain irritants, especially environmental pollutants, may be a likely cause. With children's asthma on the rise, parents and school teachers are finding it necessary to learn more about its symptoms and treatment and work towards creating an environment that prevents the occurrence of an asthma attack.

According to the American Lung Association, an estimated 6.2 million children under age 18 suffer from asthma, making it the leading serious chronic illness among children. With asthma, a child's air passages become sensitive to certain allergens or irritants. As a result, the airway muscles tighten, become swollen, and produce an excessive amount of mucus. This causes a child to have difficulty with breathing air out. Asthmatic episodes can be mild or severe, and can occur frequently or sporadically. Just about anything can trigger an asthma attack, but the symptoms are quite common: wheezing, shortness of breath or difficulty in breathing, and coughing spasms. In more serious attacks where emergency medical care is needed, there is a feeling of suffocation and a child's lips or fingernails turn a gray or bluish color.

While asthma is a life-threatening disease and cannot be cured, it can be successfully controlled with medication and preventive measures. Daily monitoring of a child's airways with a peak flow monitor, keeping an asthma diary and medications, such as a bronchodilator (commonly referred to as an inhaler) or allergy injections, are the most common means of prevention. A more effective method, however, is identifying and removing irritants or allergens that could cause a child to have an asthma attack. The best places to start are areas where a child spends the most time: home, school and outdoors.