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Three Potential Causes of Childhood Asthma

People of all ages struggle with asthma. It’s a serious inflammatory disease that causes the narrowing and swelling of airways. Struggles to breathe, coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath are all common symptoms of asthma. According to the Cleveland Clinic, asthma is the leading cause of chronic illness for children in the United States.

Children’s asthma can be challenging to diagnose because it can resemble other similar respiratory illnesses. Though there is no cure for asthma, depending on the severity of the condition, childhood asthma can improve or even go away as a child grows up. Here, we’ll explore three potential causes for childhood asthma, as well as prevention and treatment methods.


Obesity

Childhood obesity causes both immediate and long-term consequences, and many of them are respiratory-related. Obese children are more prone to asthma as well as sleep apnea, which makes it difficult for children to breathe while they’re asleep.

To help prevent respiratory issues and encourage a healthy lifestyle, the Childhood Obesity Foundation recommends that children get one hour of physical activity per day. Additionally, it’s important for a parent to lead by example, plan healthy meals, and help your child maintain a healthy weight.

Mold Exposure

Mold can live either indoors or outdoors, and it thrives best in damp, warm, or humid settings. Many studies indicate that infants who are exposed to mold at an early age can develop asthma later in childhood.

As a parent, it’s important to be aware of the presence of mold both inside and outside of your home. The easiest way to detect mold is through sight or from a musty smell. If you do find mold in your home, keep your child away from the area and immediately seek help from professionals, such as the many services for mold removal in Miami. As a precaution, preventative mold testing can also be done with a mold test kit.

Smoke Exposure

Secondhand smoke can be just as harmful as smoking itself. It’s been found that exposure to tobacco smoke at a young age is a common trigger of asthma in children. Secondhand smoke irritates children’s lungs, causing them to produce more mucus than usual. Additionally, children of smokers are more prone to lung or sinus infections. Keep your child safe from smoke exposure by not smoking near your child, especially while indoors.

Smoking while pregnant is also a known cause of asthma and other lung problems for children. And the threats go beyond respiratory issues, as the infant is also at risk of having a low birth weight, a premature birth, or being prone to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

Prevention and Treatment of Childhood Asthma

Poor air quality comes with many adverse effects, and it can make a drastic difference in a child’s breathing. Whether man-made or naturally occurring, air pollution can have a serious effect on breathing and is a known trigger of asthma in children. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, children with moderate to severe asthma are 40-percent more likely to experience symptoms when exposed to pollution.

Childhood asthma can be treated in a variety of ways, as each case is different. To start, reducing household dust mites and cleaning up animal dander can help cut back on the symptoms—particularly in the room where the child sleeps.

There are also many available medications to help control asthma, including bronchodilators for short-term relief and corticosteroids for long-term relief. Additionally, regular physical activity can help condition the lungs to work in a more efficient way, so it’s important to encourage asthmatic children to be active.


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