Sat 5 Jul 2008
Bronchial Asthma is the third leading reason of hospitalization in children below age 15. The condition can be very serious in children, especially those younger than age 5, because their respiratory tracts are very narrow.
Degree of Severity
The severity of Asthma is graded as mild intermittent and mild, moderate, and severe lasting. A patient in any of these categories, even mild intermittent, can still experience a severe and even dangerous attack. According to one report, 30% of Bronchial Asthma deaths happen in patients with mild Asthma.
Risk Factors for dangerous Bronchial Asthma
Asthma is rarely fatal in minors, with only 176 Bronchial Asthma deaths reported in 1999 in children under age 15. (About 444 human deaths occurred in people between ages 15 and 34.) Just even these low numbers are unacceptable, since Bronchial Asthma deaths are largely preventable.
Factors associated with an increased risk of death from Bronchial Asthma in minors include:
- Previous life-threatening episodes of Asthma
- Lack of adequate and ongoing health care. (Most likely the reason for the higher fatalities rates in minority minors.)
- Significant behavioral problems
- Underestimating the severity of an acute attack poses the greatest threat. Unfortunately, one study of children found that nearly 40% of them were unaware of asthmatic symptoms when they occurred.
Symptoms of a Life-Threatening Attack
The following signs and symptoms may show a life-threatening situation:
- As the chest labors to bring enough air into the lungs, respiration often gets shallow
- Lacking sufficient oxygen, the skin gets bluish
- The flesh around the ribs of the chest appears to be sucked in
- The patient may begin to lose consciousness
Asthma often progresses very slowly to a serious check or may develop to a fatal or near-fatal attack within a few minutes. It is very hard to predict when an attack will become very serious. Coming symptoms or lack there of do not always reflect the ultimate severity of an attack. Some studies even advise that individuals at leading hazard for fatal or near-fatal Asthma attacks are those with poor awareness of their own reduced ability to breathe and who are slow in seeking help. Monitoring peak flow rates is, therefore, an essential management component, since it offers a more accurate assessment of lung work than symptoms only.
Continuing Outlook
In a 2003 study, researchers followed people with Asthma for longer than 30 years. About a third of children had outgrown their Bronchial Asthma in adulthood. In general, the more severe the childhood Bronchial Asthma, the greater the likelihood that it will persist. For example, only 23% of minors who experienced wheezy bronchitis (wheezing during respiratory infections) suffered from frequent or persistent Bronchial Asthma in adulthood.
There is now some evidence that severe Asthma can cause long-lasting damage and possibly permanent scarring in some patients. The risk for such injury is fullest, however, when Bronchial Asthma strikes minors in the first 3 to 5 years. There does not appear to be any important hazard for Continuing lung damage for minors who develop mild to moderate persistent Asthma between ages 5 to 12. minors adapt well to living with Bronchial Asthma, however, and even with severe Bronchial Asthma they can work as well as healthy children in virtually all areas of life.
Psychologic Factors
Studies are mixed over the effects of emotional troubles on the severity of Asthma. One study indicated that parents of minors with Bronchial Asthma may suffer greater psychological stress than their minors. A 2000 study, described that having mild-to-moderate Asthma does not significantly affect the psychological well-being of most children aged 5 to 12. Teenagers and preteens have unique difficulty coping with what they perceive as the social stigma of Asthma. Often they will deny their condition and refuse to comply with their drug regimen. Parents and older children should not hesitate to seek help from support groups, doctors, friends, or family members. Support plans in camp and school may help children to better manage their Asthma and may even reduce hospitalization.
Effect on School and Work
Although there hold been few studies on the effects of Asthma on schooling, a 2000 study reported that nocturnal (nighttime) Bronchial Asthma affected school attending and performance in minors and work attending in their parents.