This is how to manage your child’s asthma (5 tips)

This is how to manage your child’s asthma (5 tips)

If your child has asthma, then knowing how to help them manage it is one of the most important things you can do as a parent.For most kids, their asthma is something can be easily controlled; sometimes so well that symptoms will never show.But you can’t just bet on this being the case.You need to have a good understanding and a solid plan so that if an asthma flare-up does occur, you know exactly what to do.Here are five tips to help you do that well.1. Have an asthma action plan.With your child and your doctor, put together a clear, multi-step plan on how to manage asthma. This should include medication, triggers to avoid and how to recognize symptoms.Once you have a plan, make sure that both you and your child know it well.2. Make sure your child takes their medicine.Some asthma medication is preventative, while others provide temporary relief of symptoms, and both you and your child need to know when each should be taken.Make sure you take the medicine with you when leaving the house for extended periods, like holidays, and be help your child create a healthy habit of when to administer the medicine.3. Avoid asthma triggers.It might take a bit of time to work out what the triggers are for your child’s asthma; common ones include pollen, mold and weather changes.However once you do have an understanding of them, try hard to avoid them. If pollen is a trigger, stay inside on high pollen days. If it’s mold, then make sure there isn’t any build-up in your bathroom. If it’s weather changes, then be more alert for signs of a flare up and make sure your child carries their medicine.4. Know the signs of a flare-up.You’ll become more familiar with what a flare-up looks like after your child has experienced a few of them. It’s important for you to pay attention to what the signs of a flare-up are (coughing, complaints about “feeling funny”) so that you can spot it before it happens.You will sometimes be able to spot a flare-up hours or even days before it happens and when you do, make sure to have medicine on hand.5. Know what to do when a severe flare-up occurs.It’s vital to be able to recognize when your child’s symptoms reach past your ability manage and proper medical care, or even a trip to the ER, becomes necessary.Make sure that teachers and sports coaches are also aware of this.Though managing a child with asthma can sometimes feel discouraging, it’s important to remember you aren’t alone.One in every ten children deal with asthma as a long term condition so there are plenty of other parents going through the same thing.Read about the disease, talk to others and go through any concerns with your doctor.Before long, managing it will become just another part of your routine.We hope these tips are able to help you do that.Source: https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/asthma-mgmt.html