The Hidden Epidemic: Children and Asthma, Part One:

Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease in which the body's airways swell or become inflamed, causing increased difficulty breathing and a painful lining of the airways with heavy mucus. Symptoms can include heavy wheezing, coughing, sneezing, shortness of breath, fatigue, and chest tightness. The source of the inflammation is almost always allergic in nature, produced by airborne irritants, viral respiratory infections, and other key environmental factors such as pollen or adverse weather.

Asthma sufferers are prone to severe reactions, called asthma attacks, which can leave them literally struggling to breathe. While there is no known cure for asthma as yet, the prognosis for most patients is usually very good, as their bodies can adapt and change with proper medication and exercise.

The Asthma Epidemic

The number of reported asthma cases among all age groups is skyrocketing. According to the National Library of Medicine, more than twenty million Americans suffer with asthma. Over nine million – almost half – of that number are children, where the disease is spreading fastest.

Fully six percent of all American children now suffer from chronic asthma, a seventy five percent increase since the 1980s. Smaller children (under five years old) have been hit the hardest, with a 160 percent increase during the same time period. Among children living in urban areas, the growth rate is even worse: experts believe as many as forty percent of some populations exhibit one or more asthmatic symptoms. Asthma causes more than five thousand deaths each year, with more than two million emergency room visits and 500,000 hospitalizations.

The Causes of Asthma And Its Propensity In Children

A famous analogy regarding asthma compared the symptoms of an attack to trying to breathe through a straw. During normal respiration, the lining of the bronchial airways traps foreign dust, mold, and bacteria in the airways' mucosal lining. During an asthma episode, the airways' normal functioning goes into overdrive, producing increased tissue swelling and mucus production. In severe attacks, the delivery and flow of oxygen to the blood diminishes, provoking feelings of light-headedness and dizziness.

Children suffer from asthma largely because of their size. Their smaller airways and respiratory organs lack the stamina and strength necessary to successfully fend off the allergic reactions or viral contagions that can lead to an asthma attack.

Recent evidence points strongly to airborne pollutants as a leading cause of asthmatic symptoms. Findings from the American Lung Association showed that asthmatic children are forty percent more likely to suffer symptoms during high pollution days compared to days with normal air quality. Unfortunately, close to half the U.S. population lives in areas where heavy air pollution reaches levels considered unhealthy.

Possible Causes for the Rise In Asthma Diagnoses

A number of theories posit explanations for asthma's explosive growth rate among children in recent times. Children are spending far more time indoors, where their respiratory systems are by and large at an increased exposure to indoor pollutants such as the house dust mite and cigarette smoke. At the same time, they are also exercising less.

Scientists remain uncertain why some individuals develop asthma and some do not. One widely-held belief considers a natural propensity to allergens combines with environmental factors to produce the condition. Another recent theory, known as the "hygiene hypothesis," asserts that increasingly sterile living conditions in homes and schools are retarding the body's ability to develop immunities to common allergens. A recent study by the European Community Respiratory Health Survey linked increased air freshener and cleaning detergents with growth rates of asthma in affluent populations.

Evaluating and Treating Asthma's Symptoms

Wheezing is not necessarily a symptom of chronic asthma. Recurrent coughing, either after crying, running, or during the night, is a powerful indicator. Among infants, recurrent bouts with respiratory infections such as pneumonia or bronchitis or a rattling and persistent cough should be evaluated for asthma. While there is no cure for asthma, attacks and symptoms can be managed with great success. Identifying and removing allergens in the home and in the child's surrounding environment diminishes the raw materials necessary for an attack. This can include keeping a clean home with frequent dustings and vacuuming, buying an effective air scrubber, and eliminating allergic plants and dust-bearing household objects. A full means of asthma-proofing the home can be found at the Nemours Foundation's Web site: http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/asthma/asthma_home.html.

Asthma Medications

The most common form of asthma medications are known as bronchodilators, which act to increase airflow among the bronchial airways. The dilators usually come either in an oral dosage or in a pocket-sized inhaler. The American Lung Association believes bronchodilators are probably the only medication children with normal levels of asthma will require. Bronchodilator medications include but are not limited to the beta2-adrenergic receptor agonists albuteraol, sulfate, and levalbuterol. Certain long-acting agonists have been put on the market, but a 2005 Food and Drug Administration health advisory about worsening symptoms have diminished their use somewhat. Albuterol sometimes results in increased irritability among child users.

For children with mild pesistant to severe asthma symptoms, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommends anti-inflammatory mecications such as Cromolyn and Nedocromil. Both have low incidents of side effects and have been safely used for years. They require consistent dosages to be effective, however.

Some long-term asthma medications such as theophylline work as long as 24 hours, but have been shown to promise potentially serious side effects. Patients' blood levels are usually monitored as a means to managing adverse reactions.

Asthma Attack Prevention

Systemic corticosteroids help to suppress inflammation of the airways by bolstering the body's natural defenses. However, because of the risk of side effects, their use is relegated only to emergencies, such as the threat of an attack. They are typically a "last resort" used when bronchodilators and anti-inflammatories have failed to produce results.

Corticosteroids are naturally-occurring hormones in the human body that effectively help combat allergic reactions as well as many other diseases. They are not performance-enhancing steroids, as the name might suggest. Many asthma sufferers and their parents sometimes administer one dose of corticosteroids every other morning, as a means of preventing severe attacks while minimizing the risk of side effects.

Another class of preventative treatment, glucocorticoids, typically come in inhalers and assist the body in fighting off respiratory inflammation and allergic reaction. Typical glucocorticoids include ciclesonide, beclomethasone, budesonide, flunisolide, and fluticasone.

Some recent innovations in treatment include medications combining steroids with long-acting bronchodilators. In the United States a fluticasone/salmeterol combination is sold through prescription under the name Advair. Another combination, mixing budesonide and formoterol, is prescribed under the name Symbicort.

Long Term Prognosis

The true bright side to suffering with asthma is that in most cases the disease is eventually overcome. More than half of all asthmatic children usually lose all symptoms within a decade. This article was brought to you by Corner Stork Baby Gifts at http://www.cornerstorkbabygifts.com in an ongoing effort to provide you with helpful information so your family can live a longer, happier and healthy life. Visit the website at http://www.cornerstorkbabygifts.com/cornerstorkarticles.html for more articles and information.