A cough is likely due to asthma if it refuses to go away for days, weeks, or months, gets worse at night or early in the morning, or comes and goes without warning.

The cough is even more likely to be due to asthma if the child also has a chronic rough skin rash called eczema, or if a parent or other close relative has asthma.

Children and adolescents can develop asthma at any age. Therefore, no matter at what age the cough began, recognition that the child might have an underlying asthma condition is essential.

Unfortunately, many parents are reluctant to accept a diagnosis of asthma, a dilemma that leads to unnecessary pain and suffering, treatment delays, and even death. For parents who can’t accept that their child has asthma, I have good news: coughs caused by asthma get better quickly with the right medications. Also, children can outgrow their asthma.

Why do people suffer from asthma?

People who suffer from asthma have sensitive and hyper-reactive lungs, in the same way that people who suffer from eczema have sensitive skin.

A sensitive lung can go into spasm or constriction at any time. The spasm narrows the small air channels, limiting airflow within the lungs and suddenly making it difficult for people with asthma to breathe. During an episode of such an asthma attack, patients may experience shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing, rapid breathing, and chest tightness or discomfort.

Wheezing is a high-pitched musical sound that occurs in the chest of a person having an asthma attack. When it’s loud, people nearby can hear it; but at other times it can only be heard by doctors listening to the chest with a stethoscope.

asthma triggers

Cold or runny nose with its concomitant viral infection, cold weather, pets such as dogs and cats, dust, dirt, cockroaches, pollutants, paint fumes, perfumes, mold, grass, Pollen and cigarette smoke can already trigger an episode of coughing and wheezing in sensitive lungs. Exercise, in addition to the emotions, also causes coughing and shortness of breath in people with sensitive lungs.

Cough as a symptom of asthma

Coughing, a common problem, is one of the many signs of asthma. Parents and caregivers take children to doctors when the cough continues for many days and does not resolve with cough syrup. Cough is annoying for children; it can prevent them from sleeping at night or during the day, cause them to vomit, make them afraid to eat and even cause them to lose weight. When cough and fever go together in a child, a more sinister illness like pneumonia comes to mind.

asthma severity

When evaluating a child with asthma, it is important to assess the severity of symptoms. Some children have the intermittent form of asthma, while others have the persistent form.

People with the irregular form of asthma experience symptoms from time to time. Those who have a persistent form experience degrees of symptoms more frequently, usually weekly or daily, and sometimes even several times a day.

Examination of children with asthma.

Doctors look for signs of distress when presented with a child with an acute asthma attack. Pulling in and out of a patient’s chest muscles, or ‘drawing in’, indicates air hunger and agony.

When there is no obvious wheezing, chest indrawing, or spontaneous coughing, I tend to ask the child, if they are old enough and comfortable, to cough out loud so I can hear them.

From the sound, you can often tell where the cough is coming from: from the throat, from the pharynx, or from deep in the chest. The latter would mean that the lungs are the source of the problem and therefore indicative of asthma. This distinction is important.

Respiratory rate, temperature, pulse rate, and oxygen saturation are some of the vital signs obtained at the time of the first exam.

Asthma Diagnosis

Doctors can diagnose asthma in a patient who has a cough by listening to the chest with a stethoscope. A high-pitched musical sound, known as wheezing, suggests this condition. When a patient’s symptoms are relieved by the use of a bronchodilator, such as albuterol, the diagnosis is almost certain.

asthma medications

Asthma treatment medications, known as bronchodilators, aim to open narrowed airways so air can enter the lungs. Another group of drugs called “inhaled steroids” reduces mucus production and inflammation in the small airways. People with frequent asthma attacks should use both medications. Physicians should explain the details of use.

Asthma control and prevention

Prevention is the key to containing asthma. People with the condition should avoid known environmental triggers; Some of the most well-known allergens have already been mentioned: dust, cats, dogs, smoke, cockroaches, etc. Different asthmatics may have different triggers.

An asthma action plan is a set of steps that, when completed by doctors, guides patients on using their medication before and during symptoms, and what to do when symptoms don’t improve. There is also a section that tells users how to control things in their environment that make their asthma worse.

Why do people die of asthma?

Two years ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, in the US reported that 187 children under the age of 18 had died that year as a result of asthma.

I guess the number of children dying of asthma every day in inner cities of underdeveloped countries like Onitsha in Nigeria, where pollution is on every corner and people breathe air mixed with smoke, dirt and dust, is innumerable.

Simple measures like avoiding asthma triggers and prompt use of asthma medications would prevent many unnecessary deaths. The lack of recognition of the disease is the most heartbreaking and obvious reason for the high numbers. In addition, lack of access to much-needed medications, as well as delays in seeking expert medical intervention, are often to blame.

Final

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease, but is simply based on the author’s experience. Readers should consult their physician before implementing any part of the suggestions.