Asthma Triggers

Dear Lisa

My 10 year old son has Asthma. I bring him to the Doctor regularly and he takes the medication prescribed. His Asthma symptoms come on out of the blue, for no apparent reason. Are there any measures I can take to prevent him from having attacks?

“Want to prevent Asthma Attacks in N.J.”

Dear “Want to prevent Asthma Attacks",

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways which leads to reversible airway obstruction. Although Asthma is a chronic disease, it seems to present with periods of exacerbations and remissions. The exacerbations are typically brought on by an Asthma “trigger”. The exposure to Asthma triggers may lead to worsening of a child’s condition.

The common triggers for Asthma include, infections (such as a virus, or a sinus infections), allergies, irritants(such as cigarette smoke or perfume), poor air quality, weather (especially weather changes), exercise, hormonal changes, medications (such as aspirin, ibuprofen or heart medications), stress and strong emotional expression (such as laughing or crying hard). Not everyone with Asthma has the same triggers and some people only develop symptoms if they are exposed to more than one trigger at a time.

You seem to be on the right track because your child sees the Doctor regularly and takes the medication as prescribed. I believe one of the most effective ways of preventing Asthma exacerbations is to identify and control your child’s triggers. If you do not know your child’s triggers, I suggest keeping a diary of all exacerbations. In the diary, include your child’s activity, exposures, location, the weather and environment, the date, diet, medications and state of health.

Upon reviewing the diary you may find a pattern which will help you identify his triggers. For example, some children with Asthma will only have an attack if they run outside in the very cold air when they have an upper respiratory infection. Another child may only have a problem when they sleep over a friend’s house that has pets.

If you have trouble identifying and controlling your child’s triggers or if his symptoms seem to becoming more frequent or out of control, I suggest that you bring your child to an Asthma Specialist for an evaluation. I applaud you for trying to gain better control over your child’s Asthma and wish you success in your endeavor.

Lisa Kelly, R.N., P.N.P., C.
Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner

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