Understanding some of the causes behind childhood asthma, as well as the symptoms associated with it, can help you and your children breathe easier!
More than 5% of children in the United States are diagnosed with asthma. When asthma isn’t well controlled, it can cause a wide range of issues, such as respiratory concerns, lung damage, missed school and activities, and more.
Knowing what causes childhood asthma, as well as what symptoms to look out for, can equip you to avoid asthma triggers and manage your child’s asthma successfully.
What Is Pediatric Asthma?
Pediatric asthma is a chronic illness that makes it harder to breathe through two processes outlined below:
- Inflaming the lining of the airways – the thickened lining narrows the airways, makes them feel irritated, and increases production of mucus inside the airways
- Tightening the muscles around the airways in the lungs, causing them to narrow
When a child’s asthma is triggered, he or she may have an asthma attack (or “exacerbation”). This can lead to your child missing out on school or activities and sometimes leads to hospitalization and, rarely, death.
Asthma can begin at any age, but it most often starts during childhood when your child’s immune system is still developing. Most children get their first symptom by age 5.
What Are the Symptoms?
For childhood asthma, symptoms can vary from child to child. Even within the same child, you may see different symptoms at different times. The most common symptoms include:
- Frequent coughing spells
- Rapid breathing or shortness of breath
- Chest tightness or pain
- Wheezing or a whistling sound when breathing in or out
- Retractions: when the area between your child’s ribs and in the lower neck area sinks in when they try to exhale
- Weakness or fatigue
- Irritability or anxiety
Some children may only show symptoms during certain activities or when exposed to specific triggers (intermittent asthma), and some may have symptoms most weeks of the year (persistent asthma).
During an asthma attack, a child’s symptoms may get much worse. An asthma attack can happen slowly or come on very quickly. A serious attack may include:
- Serious breathing problems
- Severe coughing
- Rapid worsening of shortness of breath or wheezing
- Pale or bluish skin in the face, lips, or fingernails
- Inability to speak well or speak at all
Recognizing the signs of a child’s asthma attack early can help them receive treatment more quickly, before the symptoms increase in severity.
What Causes Asthma?
Asthma is caused by a wide variety of factors, some of which occur even before birth. These factors include:
- Genetics (your chances of having asthma increase if you have a close relative with asthma)
- Frequent respiratory infections in infancy
- Low birth weight
- Prenatal exposure to tobacco smoke
What Causes Asthma Attacks or Worsens Asthma Control?
- Allergens
- Exposure to tobacco smoke, marijuana smoke, or vaping
- Air pollution: living in or near a city or industrial site with high amounts of air pollution
- Other allergens like pollen, pet dander, mold, or dust mites
- Respiratory infections: colds, influenza, COVID-19
- Environmental factors
- Irritants like smoke
- Weather: cold air, humidity
- Other triggers: exercise, stress, excitement
Knowing your child’s triggers helps you prevent flare-ups.
What Steps Can I Take to Prevent or Manage My Child’s Asthma?
There are several steps you can take to reduce your child’s risk of developing asthma, as well as ways to manage it effectively.
- Talk to your child’s health care provider. If you’ve noticed any symptoms that concern you, set up an appointment. Detail your child’s symptoms and your concerns. The child’s provider may refer your child to a specialist such as a pediatric pulmonologist or an allergist.
- Have an asthma action plan. If your child has asthma, an action plan details the best ways to manage your child’s symptoms and prevent asthma attacks. It should include medication details, when to seek emergency care, and information for school employees and other caregivers.
- Keep your child up to date on vaccinations. The most common trigger of asthma attacks in youth is respiratory infections. Many of the infections that trigger asthma attacks are preventable with vaccinations, including influenza, pertussis, RSV, pneumococcus, and COVID-19.
- Try to avoid exposures that may trigger your child’s asthma. Whether it’s pet dander or secondhand smoke, take the steps necessary to reduce your child’s exposure to their known asthma triggers.
- Keep your home free of mold and dampness. Keeping your house dry may help reduce asthma symptoms.
- Continue to monitor your children’s symptoms. The rates of asthma exacerbations change at puberty. Before puberty, boys have higher prevalence and severity of asthma symptoms and attacks, whereas after puberty, girls experience more frequent and severe asthma symptoms and attacks. Some kids may appear to “outgrow” asthma, but about half of all kids with asthma get triggered again later in adulthood.
What Effect Does Vaping Have on Childhood Asthma Rates?
Asthma rates in children have been on the rise in recent years, and researchers believe one factor may be an increase in vaping among young people.
E-cigarettes or “vapes” are battery-operated devices that heat a liquid until it becomes an aerosol or mist, which is then inhaled. This method of smoking has become popular with middle and high school-aged children and is often marketed as a healthier alternative to smoking.
However, the smoke from e-cigarettes or vapes also contains harmful chemicals that can cause lung disease, chronic bronchitis, heart disease, and cancer. Most e-cigarettes also contain nicotine, which can lead to addiction, affect brain development, increase depression and anxiety symptoms, affect memory and attention, and more.
Several studies of e-cigarette effects in children and adolescents show an association between vape exposure and self-reported asthma diagnosis or respiratory symptoms. Studies show that vaping is linked to a rise in wheezing episodes, bronchitis-type incidents, and poor respiratory health.
This is especially problematic for children who already have an asthma diagnosis. Because vaping is a trigger for asthma, it can make the condition worse. The smoke irritates the airways and causes inflammation, leading to symptoms like coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness.
Talk to your children about the dangers of vaping. Detail the harmful effects vaping can have on their health using the resources and information on Smokefree Teen.
Understanding some of the causes behind childhood asthma, as well as the symptoms associated with it, can help you and your children breathe easier!