The Children’s Asthma
Asthma is the most common chronic condition in children. Nearly 3 million office visits are due to asthma each year in the United States. Asthma results in 200,000 hospitalizations each year. Asthma in children is often hidden by allergies or colds.
Having trouble breathing can be scary. For some kids, finding out that they have asthma means feeling different from their classmates or friends. Sometimes, kids with asthma don’t take their medicine when they need to because they don’t want others to know they have asthma. But when they don’t take their medicine, the wheezing or coughing gets worse. Here are some ideas about how to better deal with asthma so you can be active and have fun, just like everybody else.
Children younger than 5 usually use a nebulizer instead of an inhaler. This machine creates a mist of the medication that can be easily inhaled using a mask. To make treatment time easier, keep a box of “special” toys that are only used at treatment time. Include cassette tapes, books, puzzles and videos that help to make this a special time.