Tips for Asthma Care for Your Child

Find out why a pediatrician is the medical expert you need to manage your child’s asthma symptoms.

If you suspect that your child has asthma it’s important that you turn to one of our Grayslake, IL, pediatricians not just for a diagnosis but also for the care your little one deserves. Asthma is one of the most common chronic childhood disorders and an asthma attack can be serious and even life-threatening, so it’s important that your child receives the proper asthma care to keep their symptoms under control.

First and foremost, it’s important that if you haven’t already that you bring your child in for an evaluation to determine whether or not they have asthma. If you’ve been bringing your little one in for routine checkups then chances are good that we will be able to detect asthma early on. Once our Grayslake children’s doctors have diagnosed your little one we will get to work developing a plan that will help lessen the frequency and severity of your child’s asthma symptoms.

Once we create an action plan we want to make sure this is a plan that you will follow. We will give you clear instructions on how to avoid certain asthma triggers, how to pinpoint signs of an asthma attack and what you should do to treat symptoms when they arise. It’s important that once you have this detailed plan that you stick to it. If you have any questions along the way, as we assume you might, don’t hesitate to reach out to us.

While we will provide your child with medications to control symptoms and manage flare-ups, there are also non-medicinal ways to reduce your child’s symptoms. For example, there are certain things that can trigger asthma such as cigarette smoke, cold air, or pollen. We can work with you to determine what might be triggering your child’s asthma symptoms so that you can do your best to avoid these triggers whenever possible. While we know that some of these triggers can’t be avoided 100 percent of the time, knowing what these triggers are can help reduce your child’s exposure to them.

The most common medicines used to treat asthma are control medications and a quick-relief inhaler. Control medications are long-term medications used daily to reduce inflammation within the airways and to control your child’s asthma symptoms. This medication is used for daily maintenance of your child’s asthma.

A quick-relief inhaler, also referred to as a rescue inhaler, is only used for situations in which symptoms flare-up and your child needs instant relief. These medications are short-acting and aren’t used every day (only as needed).

If you want to talk to us about ways to reduce your child’s asthma attacks and to help them lead the healthiest life possible then turn to the expert team at Mundelein Pediatrics in Grayslake, IL.