Asthma triggers are as individual as children themselves. When exposed to an asthma trigger (an allergen or irritant), the airways and lungs of people with asthma react with a cascade of symptoms, such as wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath. If your child is diagnosed with asthma, you’ll work closely with your child’s doctor to pinpoint his or her personal asthma triggers.

You’ll probably be asked to begin keeping a diary of symptoms. In it, you’ll record the symptoms themselves, and any exposure to potential asthma triggers in the hours before symptoms began. For example, if you note that your child wheezes every time he or she pets the neighbor’s dog, your doctor may suspect that pet dander (tiny particles of an animal’s shed skin) is an asthma trigger for your child.

Dust-borne asthma triggers

Children spend a lot of time crawling, sitting, and playing close to the floor, where house dust settles. House dust always contains potent allergens and irritants. As children move around, the dust becomes airborne. Once in the air, the triggers in house dust are then easy for the child to inhale. Dust-borne asthma triggers can include:

• Dust mites and their waste (microscopic bugs common to all house dust, and mite droppings)
• Animal allergen from pets (including shed skin)
• Cockroach droppings
• Pollen (the reproductive seed of plants)
• Mold and mildew spores (the reproductive seed of mildew and mold)
• Fine airborne particles (soil, chalk or baby powder dust, microscopic fibers)

Exercise

Exercise is a common pediatric asthma trigger. Very young children, of course, don’t spend a lot of time doing jumping jacks. Their exercise comes in the form of vigorous play –running, for example. An exercise-triggered asthma episode typically starts within 10 to 15 minutes of beginning activity, and peaks about 15 minutes after stopping, according to researchers at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver. Even if your child’s asthma episode doesn’t follow this timeline, note in the symptoms diary whether your child was very active just before symptoms appeared.

Viral infections

Viruses are the most common trigger for children under the age of 4. Whenever your baby or toddler has a cold that doesn’t seem to go away, note it in the symptoms diary. Ongoing cold symptoms may in fact be an asthma episode triggered by a viral infection.

Airborne allergens and irritants

Childhood asthma can be triggered by allergens and irritants in the air. Airborne triggers include pollen, mold spores, animal dander, tobacco and other smoke, air pollution (ozone, auto exhaust, and other airborne chemicals), and strong odors or other airborne vapors (from household cleaners, paint, varnish, and perfumes). Is your child “allergic” to getting his or her hair trimmed? The strong chemicals used in hair salons could be triggering symptoms. And this is just one of many unexpected places where your child may encounter triggers.

Include triggers in your symptoms diary

Each time you record asthma symptoms in your diary, mentally review the hours before symptoms appeared. Ask yourself these questions:

• Where was your child?
• What was he or she doing?
• Which potential asthma triggers might have been present?

Note potential triggers along with asthma symptoms. Once you and your doctor know the triggers, you can begin to reduce your child’s exposure to them — and the frequency and severity of his or her asthma symptoms.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 30th, 2007 at 10:36 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.