Childhood Asthma

Childhood asthma, though often manageable and not life-threatening, can sometimes be a very dangerous disease. Treatment may involve ongoing use of medication to avoid or cope with serious exacerbation of the disease.

An ounce of prevention…

Because children are often much more physically active than adults the risk of exacerbation may be increased in children. But treatment is only one aspect of childhood asthma. Prevention is another and a very important one at that. Because asthma occurs so frequently in children and because not all cases are the result of genetic predisposition prevention is where a great deal of improvement can go a long way toward helping children avoid lifetimes of asthma related problems.

Those without access to health care

For children without health insurance asthma can be a particularly big problem. Detection and treatment are critical in any disease which has the potential to be fatal but despite this there are more children with asthma who fail to receive treatment due to lack of insurance than you might imagine. Among social activists and doctors childhood asthma is a high priority in terms of national concerns relating to children, particularly ones without access to adequate preventative health care. Living environment is a factor in development of childhood asthma and so social awareness and outreach efforts will ultimately be key to reducing the occurrence of this disease.

Reducing long term damage and other adverse effects

Treatment of childhood asthma, unlike adult treatment, can reduce many unique, adverse effects such as long term damage to lungs during their development. Some studies show that even the body’s growth may be affected by the manner and timeliness of treatments.

Help for children in need

In the U.S. and in other nations, organizations exist specifically to encourage awareness of issues related to childhood asthma and to raise funding for research as well as treatments for those who cannot afford them. Readers interested in learning how they can help may wish to visit websites such as www.aafa.org. With financial help and increased awareness, childhood asthma could be less an issue in five or ten years than it is today. With a goal like that in mind anyone can be a hero to children affected by this disease.