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 If
you are caring for someone you love who suffers from asthma and especially if
that someone is your child, you undoubtedly understand what it is like to live
with the anxiety of knowing that at some point something will trigger an attack.
It is not an 'if' situation. And while you personally may be doing all that you
can to learn about and improve their circumstances, it is important to remember
that you can only go so far. Some circumstances will be beyond your control,
despite all the preparations you make ahead of time on asthmatic care.
When your child starts to go to school and looks to act more independently it
will become apparent that he or she will have to take more responsibility for
his or her health and condition. However, as a parent most of the responsibility
falls upon you to care and to help your child to learn on how to manage his or
her asthma.
Before you can effectively care for your child, it is very important for you to
understand what happen to his or her body during an asthma attack. Your doctor
will be the best person to explain to you all you need to know about asthma,
asthmatic care and what you can do to help your asthmatic child. With this
knowledge in mind, you are better prepared to cope and manage your child's
asthma.
As a start, it is vitally important for you to seek out and take note of
anything that seems to create discomfort for your child and try to eliminate
these irritants from him or her. It may be necessary to consistently explain the
cause and effect to you little ones to make him or her understand your action.
As an example, some children can be extremely reactive to pet dander and dust
mites. While you may be able to create a hypo-allergenic environment in your
home, it will be necessary to help your child understand the reaction that
follows being close to certain animals - no matter how lovable they may be.
Foods can be an issue for many asthmatics children and it will be helpful, if
they are too young to remember all the details, carry with them a list of foods
that need to avoid.
Another important issue in your care of asthmatic children is that if they
require inhalers, make sure that they have it with them at all times.
Especially, of course, their blue puffer inhaler, that has the rescue medicine
and that may be required during an asthma attack. Along with this, it is good to
have in place an “asthma action plan” which detailed down what symptoms to watch
for, what they mean, how to adjust the medicine in line with the symptoms, and
when the symptoms become serious enough to call 911. If possible, have this
information printed and laminated on a card so that they can carry it with them
at all time.
Your child will need to learn how to properly use the inhaler. If they have any
difficulty in getting the hang of it, you, your doctor or a trained asthma
specialist should teach them how to use the inhaler effectively.
Ultimately it is good to realize that children can be wonderfully adaptable.
When parents demonstrate a calm and sometimes matter-of-fact forthrightness,
children will then often respond calmly and reassured as well. This can be so
important especially when an attack is under way.
No one should underestimate the stress that is involved in caring for children
with asthma. The worry is constantly there. However, ideally you will want them
to live the most natural and normal life that they can achieve. Part of this is
having the attitude that an asthma condition can be controlled with proper
asthmatic care, common sense and a calm outlook for the future.
Click here for
more information on asthmatic care!.
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