Ayusanjivani Chikitsa
Dr. Prashant Sawant's
Copyright "ayusanjivani Chikitsa" 2011 All rights resesrved E-mail: drprashantsawant@gmail.com
"Childhood Asthma" - A Mother’s Nightmare
Mrs. Veena was concerned about the health of her 7-year-old son, Varun. The thick file of Varun’s case papers and prescriptions was narrating the cause of her anxiety.
As a three months old infant, Varun had a first attack of cough, associated with wheezing in the chest and fever. Varun was prescribed a course of antibiotic and a cough syrup by his pediatrician. The symptoms were relieved, but reappeared after about six months. This time a bronchodilator was added to his prescription. And the story continued…
When Varun was four years old, he was recommended a course of prednisolone (a potent steroid) and inhalers, as his symptoms did not heed to usual cough syrups and bronchodialators. This too proved to be of little help as the relief was only temporary. An attack of cough would keep Varun crouching in his bed, coughing relentlessly, leaving him breathless throughout the night and exhausting him to sleep in the wee hours of the day. Quite often, he threw up whatever food he ate. On number of occasions, Varun had to skip school and even a few exams, because of these annoying coughing episodes.
Varun was first referred to our clinic in March, 2000. At that time, he was 5 years old. He was looking very tired and ill. He was having severe cough, cold and difficulty in breathing. On examination, he had normal temperature, pulse / minute and respiration / minute. On auscultation there were bilateral wheezing sounds in the chest. It was obvious that Varun was suffering from an attack of asthma.
Childhood asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases of childhood and is the most common cause of school absenteeism. It is an inflammatory condition of the bronchial airways, which causes airway obstruction, chest tightness, coughing and wheezing. Each individual suffers a different level of severity. All children with asthma, however, do enjoy a reversal of symptoms until something triggers the next episode.
The signs and symptoms of childhood asthma:
Difficulty in breathing with a whistling sound (wheezing) in the chest is the characteristic of asthma.
Recurrent night cough is common, chest tightness and shortness of breath is common.
The child, who coughs after running or crying, may have asthma.
Infants, who have asthma often have a rattly cough, rapid breathing and may have an excessive number of "pneumonias," episodes of "bronchitis" or "chest colds."
In a young child, the discomfort of chest tightness may lead to unexplained irritability.
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Mrs. Veena was concerned about the health of her 7-year-old son, Varun. The thick file of Varun’s case papers and prescriptions was narrating the cause of her anxiety.
As a three months old infant, Varun had a first attack of cough, associated with wheezing in the chest and fever. Varun was prescribed a course of antibiotic and a cough syrup by his pediatrician. The symptoms were relieved, but reappeared after about six months. This time a bronchodilator was added to his prescription. And the story continued…
When Varun was four years old, he was recommended a course of prednisolone (a potent steroid) and inhalers, as his symptoms did not heed to usual cough syrups and bronchodialators. This too proved to be of little help as the relief was only temporary. An attack of cough would keep Varun crouching in his bed, coughing relentlessly, leaving him breathless throughout the night and exhausting him to sleep in the wee hours of the day. Quite often, he threw up whatever food he ate. On number of occasions, Varun had to skip school and even a few exams, because of these annoying coughing episodes.
Varun was first referred to our clinic in March, 2000. At that time, he was 5 years old. He was looking very tired and ill. He was having severe cough, cold and difficulty in breathing. On examination, he had normal temperature, pulse / minute and respiration / minute. On auscultation there were bilateral wheezing sounds in the chest. It was obvious that Varun was suffering from an attack of asthma.
Childhood asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases of childhood and is the most common cause of school absenteeism. It is an inflammatory condition of the bronchial airways, which causes airway obstruction, chest tightness, coughing and wheezing. Each individual suffers a different level of severity. All children with asthma, however, do enjoy a reversal of symptoms until something triggers the next episode.
The signs and symptoms of childhood asthma:
Difficulty in breathing with a whistling sound (wheezing) in the chest is the characteristic of asthma.
Recurrent night cough is common, chest tightness and shortness of breath is common.
The child, who coughs after running or crying, may have asthma.
Infants, who have asthma often have a rattly cough, rapid breathing and may have an excessive number of "pneumonias," episodes of "bronchitis" or "chest colds."
In a young child, the discomfort of chest tightness may lead to unexplained irritability.
<< Back Next >>