Prevent and Manage Child Asthma

_{Seeing a child struggling to catch a breath can make his parents anxious and worried. It is not easy for the doting parents to see their child living under a constant threat of getting next asthma attack.}

 _{Asthma is condition that arises due to the tightness of lungs which obstructs the normal airflow passage. It is accompanied with various clinical symptoms like trouble breathing, coughing, wheezing and breath shortness. It is an incurable disease which can be controlled by using long term and short term medications.}

_{What are the causes of asthma?}

_{From past few years, asthma has tremendously increased in children. There are many factors that make the children susceptible to asthma:}

• Rising pollution induced by diesel fuel cars and buses are causing allergic conditions like asthma
• _{Environmental irritants like chlorinated water of swimming pool,  pollen, dust mites and animal dander also induces asthma allergy}
• _{Chemical irritants like fragrance powder, soaps, cosmetic products and air fresheners can cause asthma attack}
• _{Raising up of children in a sterile environment makes their immunity compromised and they become oversensitive}
• _{Overweight and lack of activity also raises the inflammation in the body and causes asthma}
• _{Eczema is an allergic skin condition that characterized by the itchy, red and swollen skin which further invites various sorts of microorganisms. Many studies have revealed that children who have eczema are at higher risk of developing asthma.}

_{How one can manage asthma?}

_{It is very important for the parents to recognize and take preventive measures in order to prevent asthma or asthma attack in future. Regular monitoring of the children’s health status is must and don’t even neglect the single clinical symptom. The following steps can really bring a lot of difference:}

•          _{Clean house regularly and wear mask while doing that}
•          _{Change your bed sheets and pillow covers regularly}
•          _{Proper air ventilation, clean air ducts and AC systems that keeps your house mold free}
•     _{Keep pets out of the bedrooms and sleeping areas.} Regular wash and do vacuum cleaning of interior surfaces
•    Follow your lung function by using peak flow meter as it decreases before asthma symptoms and clearly shows that asthma attack is on the way
•   _{Managing asthma with the help of therapeutic drugs.  There are wide array of therapeutic drugs that helps in preventing asthma attack. Long term and quick relief medications as the name suggest that former one is taken on the daily basis to keep inflammation at a bay. It reduces or eliminates asthma flare ups. The latter one is taken when needed in emergency to open the constricted airways. There are many drugs given in the management of asthma. Serevent Diskus 50mcg contains one active ingredient Salmeterol Xinafoate and it is a long beta 2 receptor agonist and relaxes the smooth muscles, thus dilates the constricted bronchioles. Salmeterol is a potent and has long lasting effects. It inhibits the histamine, Leukotriene and prostaglandin D2 inflammatory mediators in lungs. It keeps the muscles around the lungs airways in a relaxed state and avoids symptoms of Asthma such as wheezing and shortness of breath.}