As children grow up, they are often exposed to many germs. Sometimes colds, coughs, and runny noses are very normal. But if it happens too frequently, and there may even be “coughing non-stop” or “severe coughing at night”, parents should be more careful. The child may have “asthma”!

According to research from the Taiwan Health Insurance Database, between 2000 and 2007, the rate of asthma among children or adolescents under the age of 20 was approximately 15.7%. On average, one in six children has asthma!

What Are the Symptoms of Asthma?

• Frequent cough
• Night cough
• Wheeze
• Shortness of breath
• Chest tightness, chest pain

What Is Asthma?

Asthma is caused by “chronic inflammation” of the trachea, bronchi, and lungs, which narrows the respiratory tract, thereby causing respiratory obstruction. With this kind of obstruction, you will see the child wheezing and coughing non-stop, and sometimes you will hear the child wheeze.

Why Do You Have Asthma?

Such “chronic inflammation” will occur, which is closely related to allergies. Research has found that about 80% of asthmatic children have allergies.

When allergies occur, some people’s hands, feet, eyelids, and body will begin to swell and become red. This is the reaction we can see from the outside. The same is true for asthma. When an asthma attack occurs, the respiratory tract will have a similar reaction, and the trachea and bronchi will begin to swell and become edematous.

Due to the limited space in the respiratory tract, when the swelling is severe, it will block air from entering the lungs, causing the child to have chest pain, wheezing, difficulty breathing, coughing, and other symptoms. Also because of the narrow airway, the child will hear a wheezing sound like whistling when breathing.

How to Treat Asthma?

• Inhaled Steroids: Since asthma is a “chronic inflammation,” long-term maintenance medications are required to control the inflammatory response. These maintenance drugs are mainly inhaled steroids. The advantage of inhaled steroids is that they can directly act on the trachea and bronchi, have better effects, and are less likely to produce systemic side effects. The disadvantage is that children need to be able to use inhalers and are more likely to develop oral candida infections.
• Short-Acting Inhaled Bronchodilator: Sometimes when a child has an acute attack of sudden wheezing, short-acting inhaled bronchodilators are used to improve symptoms. However, if the above two drugs still cannot be effectively controlled, some biological agents that regulate the immune system will be used to improve the allergic condition and reduce asthma attacks.