Definition of Asthma
Asthma is defined as chronic or long-term disease of the airways, the tubes that carry air into your lungs. It causes inflammation and narrowing of your bronchial tubes and this leads to airflow limitation. There are many symptoms for asthma and children with asthma may experience some or all of them.
How can you tell if you have Asthma?
It is important to talk to your doctor, if you notice that your child is experiencing any of the following:
- Coughing; in the middle of the night which often wakes you up and your child.
- Cold symptoms such as congestion, cough and trouble breathing which doesn’t go away even after a few weeks.
- Wheezing; coughing, trouble breathing or the tightening of the chest after a few minutes of physical exercise or during specific times of the year such as “allergy season” or cold seasons.
The Effects of Asthma on the Lungs
Asthma can make breathing difficult for you and it will often result in coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and tightness in the chest.
This is what happens when you have asthma:
- Inhaled triggers can cause your lungs to overreact
- Inflammation and swelling of the airways in the lungs
- Production of mucus which gets built up in the airways
- Swelling and mucus may result in the blockage and narrowing of the airways
- Sometimes the muscles around the airways tighten and squeeze the airways
Children are more likely to have Asthma, if they:
have family with asthma
- or allergic conditions, like eczema, hay fever, and even food allergies
are exposed to triggers at home
- such as the smoke of cigarette, animal or dust allergies
have allergies or eczema
This can make asthma symptoms worse and can cause asthma to be uncontrollable.
