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Does your child have bouts of wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath? Have you talked to your child’s doctor about these symptoms? Could your child have asthma? While these are some of the symptoms of asthma, your doctor may want to perform other tests to confirm the diagnosis. One of the tests that your doctor may recommend is a lung function or breathing test. This may be able to rule out other causes of these same symptoms. Sometimes doctors try prescribing asthma medication for your child to see if it reduces or eliminates the symptoms. If the medication works then the doctor may diagnose your child with asthma.
Try to keep a record or journal of your child’s symptoms. Include when they occur, what happens, and what seem to trigger the symptoms. If you don’t know what is causing the asthma symptoms, keeping a journal may help you find common causes. Your child’s doctor will want this information. However, if your child is having a severe attack, don’t wait for charts seek immediate medical attention. Some common signs or symptoms of asthma are chronic coughing, wheezing, difficulty breathing, and tightness of the chest. These symptoms may seem worse at night with asthma. Your child’s symptoms seem to be triggered by exposure to known allergens, cold air, or exercise including sports.
Your child’s doctor will want to know about a history of allergies in your child or in your child’s birth family. The doctor will also want to know if there is a birth family history of asthma. The doctor should exam your child’s upper respiratory tract, chest, and skin for signs of allergic conditions such as eczema and hives. The nose may be checked for signs of increased nasal secretions, a swollen nasal lining, and nasal polyps. The doctor will listen to your child’s breathing using a stethoscope to check for wheezing. Wheezing sounds something like a high-pitched whistle and is one of the main signs of asthma which indicates obstructed airways.
Lung function tests are seldom used when assessing children under the age of five years because they may have difficulty following the instructions. These children are usually diagnosed based on the child’s signs and symptoms, medical history, and physical examination. If these suggest asthma, the doctor may prescribe a bronchodilator to see if it improves the child’s symptoms. A new test appears promising for diagnosing asthma but because it requires specialized equipment, it is expensive so it is still being evaluated. The new test measures a chemical marker of asthma. That marker is nitric oxide, which appears in the air exhaled out of the lungs. In general, higher degrees of asthma severity correspond with higher levels of nitric oxide.
Related blog:
Which Asthma Inhaler Should Your Adopted Child Use?
Photo Credit Julia Fuller 2008
