Lottie
New Member
My baby's wheezing. Could she have asthma?
You may be alarmed if you hear your baby wheezing, but the chances are that it's not asthma. Many young children wheeze when they have an upper respiratory tract infection or a cold.
Asthma, on the other hand, is an inflammation of the lungs' small breathing tubes (bronchioles). If the wheezing frequently recurs in the absence of a cold, ask for your GP's opinion. In a child less than a year old, the airways are so small that they can make a wheezing sound which is not true asthma. Wheezing can be quite common in early childhood, and unless the attacks persist past the age of 3, most doctors say there's no cause for alarm.
What causes asthma?
Asthma in most children and adults is a reaction to a trigger — usually tobacco smoke, pet fur, mould spores, dust mites, or pollen (although respiratory infections and exercise in cold air can also trigger an attack). As in other types of allergies, the trigger stimulates IgE antibodies to produce histamine and other chemical mediators. It's the location of the chemical reactions — in the lungs — which distinguishes asthma. Chemicals released by the antibodies swell the lung's lining and tighten the muscles of the airway, and they also start producing mucus.
What are the risk factors for asthma?
A toddler who lives with a parent who smokes is nearly three times as likely to wheeze as a child in a smoke-free home. Genetics play a role, too. Children with an asthmatic parent develop asthma at three to six times the rate of children who don't have asthma in the family. Living in large towns and poor housing conditions seem to make children more vulnerable to the illness, too.
More infor go to source: LINK
Or:
National Asthma Campaign
www.asthma.org.uk
Helpline: 0845 70 10 203 (Mon-Fri 9 am - 7pm)
Information and advice on all aspects of childhood asthma.
You may be alarmed if you hear your baby wheezing, but the chances are that it's not asthma. Many young children wheeze when they have an upper respiratory tract infection or a cold.
Asthma, on the other hand, is an inflammation of the lungs' small breathing tubes (bronchioles). If the wheezing frequently recurs in the absence of a cold, ask for your GP's opinion. In a child less than a year old, the airways are so small that they can make a wheezing sound which is not true asthma. Wheezing can be quite common in early childhood, and unless the attacks persist past the age of 3, most doctors say there's no cause for alarm.
What causes asthma?
Asthma in most children and adults is a reaction to a trigger — usually tobacco smoke, pet fur, mould spores, dust mites, or pollen (although respiratory infections and exercise in cold air can also trigger an attack). As in other types of allergies, the trigger stimulates IgE antibodies to produce histamine and other chemical mediators. It's the location of the chemical reactions — in the lungs — which distinguishes asthma. Chemicals released by the antibodies swell the lung's lining and tighten the muscles of the airway, and they also start producing mucus.
What are the risk factors for asthma?
A toddler who lives with a parent who smokes is nearly three times as likely to wheeze as a child in a smoke-free home. Genetics play a role, too. Children with an asthmatic parent develop asthma at three to six times the rate of children who don't have asthma in the family. Living in large towns and poor housing conditions seem to make children more vulnerable to the illness, too.
More infor go to source: LINK
Or:
National Asthma Campaign
www.asthma.org.uk
Helpline: 0845 70 10 203 (Mon-Fri 9 am - 7pm)
Information and advice on all aspects of childhood asthma.