What To Know About Asthma

How your pediatrician in Grayslake, IL, can help when your child has asthma

When your child has an asthma attack, it can be a scary experience. If you and your child are living with asthma, your pediatrician can help you manage your child’s asthma, so your child can live a happy, healthy life.

Dr. Jennifer Devaney at Mundelein Pediatrics in Grayslake, IL, provides a wide range of medical services for children, including asthma treatment.

Asthma signs and symptoms may or may not be obvious. You need to look out for your child experiencing:

• Frequent episodes of wheezing and coughing
• Difficulty breathing, especially during activity
• Frequent periods of bronchitis

If your child is an infant or toddler, it may be more difficult to tell if your child has asthma. Be on the lookout for:

• Your child taking longer to feed
• Breathing issues while your child is feeding
• Rapid onset of fatigue

Your pediatrician can diagnose asthma with testing to determine level of lung function and other factors which contribute to asthma.

If your child is diagnosed with asthma, your pediatrician can treat the asthma with:

• Short-term rescue inhalers during a crisis
• Long-term asthma management medications to prevent asthma

One of the main contributors of asthma is allergies, so your pediatrician may recommend allergy testing too. If underlying allergies are contributing to your child’s asthma, your pediatrician may recommend:

• Sublingual immunotherapy drops
• Allergy shots
• Lifestyle modification to avoid the allergen if possible

It’s important to remember that an acute asthma attack can be severe and life threatening, so you need to call 911 if your child is:

• Suddenly gasping for breath
• Having difficulty speaking due to breathing problems
• Breathing so deeply the abdomen is getting sucked under the ribcage

You and your child don’t have to live in fear of an asthma attack when help is just a phone call away. To find out more about preventing an asthma attack and asthma treatment, talk with an expert. Call Dr. Jennifer Devaney at Mundelein Pediatrics in Grayslake, IL. You can reach her in the office by calling (847) 548-7337, so call today.