Corticosteroid inhalers are safe and effective in dealing with childhood asthma, reveals Cordelia B Francis
Asha didn’t have the kind of fun other children her age did. For that matter, she didn’t have friends. Asha, like a growing number of children today, suffers from childhood asthma. And that used to mean no sports, no getting all fired-up over a sack race, never sharing the agony or victory of a good game.
She missed classes regularly and her parents were adamant that she avoid any sort of sports. But that was until they finally decided to have her asthma treated. Today, Asha’s running around and is a bag full of smiles and fun.
GET TREATMENT The national figures of asthma sufferers in India have crossed the three crore mark. Of these, five-and-a-half lakh sufferers are children in Mumbai.
Dr Sanjeev Mehta, consultant chest specialist at Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai, says, “Diagnosis is important or else children live compromised lives. Diagnose and treat asthma. If it’s allergic asthma, identify the allergen and avoid that.”
Dr Mehta points out that while asthma patients will opt for medication and relief, it’s usually the parents who find it difficult to deal with the fact that their child is asthmatic.
The thought of watching their child have to live with a long-term, often incurable disease is disheartening. But that needn’t be the case. Matter-of-factly, he adds, “Just as when a person is thirsty, she drinks water, similarly, when an asthmatic person feels uncomfortable, she should use her inhaler.”
CORTICOSTEROIDS: PROVEN SAFE Research has proved that the regularly prescribed corticosteroid inhalers are safe and effective in controlling asthma. Though parents worry that the long-term use of steroids may stunt growth, ‘The New England Journal’ has shown that corticosteroids have no side effects because they go directly to the site of the problem, the lungs.
In another recent study in the US, it has been found that children taking inhaled steroids were the same height as other children. Other research has shown that while the short-term growth of children on high doses of inhaled steroids may be affected, these children do reach their predicted adult height.
Dr Sidney Braman, president of the American College of Chest Physicians, says, “Your child’s height is more likely to be affected by uncontrolled asthma, than by the steroids.
” Taken over a period of time, the steroids protect the airways from the allergens that trigger asthma. Two-thirds of children who are treated with corticosteroid inhalers will have their asthma under control. Only a few will need the support of medication to deal with their disease.
EARLY TREATMENT
Asthma often improves as children grow older, and many teenagers grow out of childhood asthma. If you treat your child’s asthma early, she is less likely to have problems as she grows up.
Dr Mehta warns, “It’s when you ignore it that the problems begin.” Dr Braman elaborates: “If asthma is not treated within six months, it could become self-perpetuating, converting a victim’s lung from a normal to an irritated lung.”
Simply put: If asthma is untreated, it will later become untreatable because once the lungs are damaged, medicines become ineffective. Remember, even when there are quiet episodes, no wheezing, sneezing or coughing, the problem is still there. The inflammation still persists in the bronchial tubes.
So, while not every cough and cold means your child is asthmatic, bear in mind that frequent colds are one of the first symptoms of asthma and that treatment is necessary.
WATCH OUT FOR: * An unexplained cough * Congestion after a cold * Wheezing * Struggling to breathe and not sleeping at night
RESOURCE INFO For support and advice on dealing with asthma, contact the ABA (asthma, bronchitis, allergy) Network at Mumbai; Tel: 6609847/6443407