As the parent of a child with asthma, keeping your child safe and healthy is a top priority. You do your best to make sure your child understands his or her asthma management plan and asthma action plan. You take steps to rid your home of things that might trigger an episode. You check up on whether your child is using medication as directed. And still you can’t help wondering if a severe, life-threatening asthma episode (status asthmaticus) may strike.

It’s useless to tell a parent not to worry. What you really need is the ability to recognize an emergency, and the knowledge to take the most effective action on behalf of your child.

Universal danger signs

Your health care provider will identify in an asthma action plan early warning signs unique to your child. Often, an older child’s action plan will be based on a series of peak flow readings that tell you how your child’s lungs are functioning. Recognizing these early signs and understanding peak flow zones helps you (and your child) know when the risk of an asthma episode is highest. However, you may want a more detailed list of the outward signs that indicate a severe episode may be building.

Each of the symptoms listed below represents an emergency, according to the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (a project of the National Institutes of Health). If you notice any of them, call your health care provider right away. You may want to post this list on your refrigerator or bulletin board, and give it to babysitters and relatives. If a caregiver spots any of them and can’t reach you immediately, they should call 911 without delay.

Get emergency help if the infant or child:

• Does not improve within 15-20 minutes after using rescue medication
• Has lips or fingernails that appear gray or blue
• Seems breathless, even while sitting and resting
• Can’t get more than a word or two out between breaths
• Suddenly seems drowsy or confused
• Has an unusually loud wheeze, which happens throughout inhalation and exhalation, or especially if loud wheezing suddenly stops
• Hunches over trying to breathe
• Appears to be struggling for breath in any way
• Stops playing at a favorite activity, and can’t start again
• Is unable to nurse or take a bottle, or if nostrils are flaring, or cries become shorter and softer than usual

What to do right away

Consult your child’s asthma action plan provided by your doctor. Your child’s action plan will specify what to do when specific sets of symptoms occur. It should also include graduated instructions for several sets of signs and symptoms (or for several peak flow zones). For example, a traffic light action plan would include green (good), yellow (caution), and red (emergency) zones. Each zone should name a medication (or other action) to take.

If you don’t already have a written asthma action plan for your child, call your health care provider to request one. Keep a copy on file at your child’s school, and give copies to babysitters, coaches, day care providers, the parent of your child’s best friend, and a reliable neighbor. Once the adults who care for your child are armed with a detailed list of danger signs and an action plan that tells them exactly what to do in an emergency, you may find yourself worrying less, and enjoying your child more.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 29th, 2007 at 5:24 am 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.