THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Nowadays, children are diagnosed with asthma and reactive airway disease. Diagnosis of asthma puzzles the parents very much and they find difficulty in accepting the diagnosis. Let us see some common myths about asthma which are being demystified:
Children do not have asthma. It is a disease of the elderly
No, asthma is a chronic disease of airways and it can affect people across various ages. Childhood asthma is a separate well established entity. Many experts say that asthma is a spectrum, not a single disease. Asthma in children is often quite different from asthma in adults.
Asthmatic kids cannot play / participate in sports
Today, sports are usually recommended for children with asthma, because exercise strengthen lung muscles and reduce asthma symptoms and long-term lung function. Still, because some activities might be more likely to trigger asthma flare-ups, it is best to first talk with a doctor about your child’s sports activities.
No air conditioner in bedrooms for asthmatic children
It is a myth that air conditioning makes wheezing worse. In reality, air conditioning in the bedroom helps in filtering dust and pollutants in outside air as well as it helps in reducing the growth of dust mites which is very common and important trigger for sneezing and night cough in asthmatic kids.
Allergy testing is very good test
Allergy testing is a way of finding out which specific allergens might be causing your child’s symptoms. It’s not fool-proof,but still useful. Addressing the most common triggers will improve your child’s symptoms.
Inhalers are not good and they are habit forming
As per current medical science, inhaled steroids are the mainstay in treatment of asthma.Inhaled steroids are the best because they provide minimum dose of medicine directly to target organ (lungs and airways) very fast without affecting other organs on a long term basis. Hence do not hesitate in using inhalers for your kids as they are the best and you will realize the benefits after using them.
Steroids are dangerous for children
Steroids are definitely dangerous provided they are used in high does for a longer time. Inhalers use the steroid dose in micrograms which is 1000 times less than oral medicines which are used in acute emergency. So instead of using oral steroids in acute asthma flare ups many times , it is better to use inhaled steroids daily to prevent acute flare-ups as well as improving quality of daily life
One should not disclose the diagnosis of asthma
It is important that your child’s teachers, coaches, and school nurses know about his or her asthma. Make sure that your child has an ‘asthma action plan’ and the proper inhalers at school. Ask your doctor to educate you and your child about asthma action plan to deal with acute wheezing symptoms.
Most patients with childhood asthma outgrow the disease when they reach adolescence but at the onset it is difficult to predict which child will have persistent asthma.
Dr Neetu Gupta, consultant paediatrician (PICU and ER) allergy and asthma specialist, KIMS Hospital Trivandram