Asthma causes changes to your child’s airways that become chronic conditions.
The lining of the airways swell. When the airways are swollen, they become more sensitive to triggers. The airways become narrow when the muscles around the airways constrict during an asthma attack. In some people with asthma, the mucus glands in the airways produce thick and excessive mucus. Breathing becomes difficult and labored because of both the constriction and the inflammation.

You need to seek medical care if your child displays any of these symptoms:

1. If your child’s shortness of breath, cough, or wheeze gets worse after you have given a rescue medicine such as Albuterol. Ask your child’s doctor how quickly your child should show improvement after administering rescue medicine, typical inhalers work within five to 10 minutes.

2. If your child is having such a hard time breathing that each breath causes the chest and neck to appear pulled or sucked in.

3. If during an asthma attack, your child suddenly has trouble walking or talking.

4. If the peak flow rate drops, to below half of your child’s normal best rate, and it doesn’t improve after rescue medicine is given.

5. Seek emergency help immediately if your child’s lips or fingernails are gray or blue!

Can you learn to recognize signs that your child is going to have an asthma attack, before it gets so serious that you need to seek emergency medical intervention? Warning signs vary with each child, so you may want to write down what you remember happening just before your child had a serious asthma attack, when the crisis is over. Then intervene if you see the same pattern recurring. Some early indicators to watch for are the peak flow numbers getting lower, unusual paleness or sweating, grumpy or easily upset, a glassy look to the eyes, changes in breathing such as breathing faster or pursing of the lips, coughing, a change in mucus, sitting or standing hunched over or suddenly feeling weak or tired.

If your child has asthma, it is important to use preventive medicines as prescribed by your child’s doctor. It is also important to have fast acting, rescue medicines on hand, that your child can inhale in an emergency. While the rescue medicines provide temporary relief by relaxing airway muscles quickly, they do not provide long-term control or prevent future attacks.

Related Sites:
Top Ten Suggestions for a New Asthmatic
Sports (or Exercise) Induced Asthma