Are you wondering if your child has asthma? As every parent who has lived through an infant’s ear infection knows, it’s not easy to assess symptoms in a child. You can’t feel what your child feels. And when children aren’t yet talking, the task is even more difficult. But it’s by no means impossible.

Your job is to look for clues that point to a breathing problem, note that information, and pass it on to a doctor. If you suspect your child has asthma symptoms, schedule an appointment with your health care provider. In the meantime, start writing down the dates, times, and exactly which symptoms appear. Your diary of observations and symptoms will form the core of your child’s medical history, the tool your health care provider needs to see the patterns that may show further tests are needed.

Wheezing: the most common pediatric asthma indicator

The National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP, a project of the National Institutes of Health) reports that a high-pitched whistling sound when breathing out is the top indicator of asthma in children. Unfortunately, any number of airway infections can produce wheezing. Wheezing may also be present when airways are blocked by a foreign object, like a swallowed coin. Asthma-related wheezing occurs mainly when your child exhales. Watch your child’s chest movement and try to see if the wheezing comes while your child is exhaling. If so, and when other asthma indicators are also present, your child’s doctor may consider asthma as a possibility.

Chronic coughing

A recurring cough that is worse at night is the number two pediatric asthma indicator, according to the NAEPP. If you notice your child waking up from coughing two times or more per month, and the coughing doesn’t seem to be related to a cold or flu, it may be asthma related.

Shortness of breath and chest tightness

During an asthma episode, the muscle bands surrounding the bronchial tubes (airways) tighten and swell, limiting the amount of air entering and leaving the lungs. As a result, breathing becomes shallow, rapid, and difficult. How do you know a child is short of breath? You may notice that he or she has difficulty completing a sentence without catching his breath. Or, you may see your child hunching over or bending forward in an effort to breathe. The child may also stop playing, or choose to rest rather than enjoy a favorite activity.

Other pediatric asthma indicators

If wheezing, coughing, or shortness of breath occur or worsen during or after exercise, after a viral infection, around animals or smoke, during certain times of the year, or when the weather changes, note the circumstances in your child’s symptoms diary. Discuss them with your child’s health care provider at your next appointment.

How do you know it isn’t something else?

You can’t know. That’s why you need to see a doctor. A symptoms diary, however, can’t be overvalued. While a physical examination and clinical tests are useful, the NAEPP reports that the child’s medical history — based in part on your symptoms diary — is the most useful information in a pediatric asthma diagnosis.

If you believe your child is experiencing asthma symptoms, call your health care provider to learn more, and start maintaining your child’s symptoms diary. Pediatric asthma can be managed successfully. But first, it needs to be diagnosed, and this is where your observations matter immeasurably.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 28th, 2007 at 10:31 pm and is filed under Kids. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.