Center for Family Health column: Asthma can be managed through medication, avoiding triggers By The Jackson Citizen Patriot
on July 25, 2014 at 9:15 AM, updated July 25, 2014 at 9:21 AM

JACKSON -- Asthma, a chronic medical condition that affects the lungs and the ability to breathe, often starts in childhood.

In fact, 9 percent of children have asthma. Through a treatment plan devised by their physician, most are able to enjoy normal childhood activities.

The disease causes inflammation inside the lungs and hyperactivity of the muscles that surround the airways leading to the lungs. This dual action creates wheezing, difficulty breathing and coughing, frequently at night.

If your child consistently demonstrates these symptoms or if your child has trouble keeping up with friends or siblings, consult your physician.

Asthma can be triggered by an irritant – a cold or upper-respiratory infection, second-hand smoke, pollution, cold air or allergies. Exercise may also affect an asthma patient. If a parent has asthma, his or her child may be more likely to develop the disease, but children can develop it without a family history.

In young children, doctors usually diagnose the disease through the symptoms. For older children and adults, lung-function tests give a more accurate diagnosis.  There are no blood tests or X-rays that will diagnosis the disease.

Once you have asthma, you may always have reactive lungs. Fortunately, it is a disease that can be managed through medication and avoiding triggers that bring on attacks.

Asthma medication takes two forms: maintenance drugs (inhaled corticosteroids) that keep patients feeling good every day, and rescue medications (usually albuterol) to control a severe attack that makes breathing difficult.

Someone experiencing an asthma attack should use their rescue medication and see a doctor if symptoms do not improve.

Parents who work with their child's doctor to find the right levels of medication and make sure their child takes that medication guarantee that their child can play, run around outside and have a normal childhood.

Asthma is a serious disease; if untreated, it can lead to death. That's why it is important for parents to recognize the situations that can lead to an asthma attack in their child. 

Allergies can be a major trigger for asthma. Once the allergy-causing substances are identified, the condition can be treated with medication and/or the irritants can be eliminated from the child's environment. Both will lessen the likelihood of an attack.

If the asthma or allergies cannot be controlled, an allergist or a pulmonologist can be consulted.

Adults also can develop asthma, depending on where they work or what they are exposed to in their environment. Again, medications can control adult-onset asthma.

Dr. Sharon Rouse, D.O., is a board-certified pediatrician and the primary-care medical director at the Center for Family Health, 505 N. Jackson St.