Why Such an Increase in Childhood Asthma?

In today's world, almost everyone knows someone with asthma. It seems as though Asthma in children is very common today. In earlier times, asthma seemed to be an inherited trait, either a parent has asthma or a grandparent. Today, that is not always the case. I for one have a child with severe asthma and neither myself or his father has it, nor any other family members.

So why the increase in asthma cases diagnosed every year? One theory is the fact that more people than ever are living in urban settings where they are over exposed to allergens that trigger asthma. In todays world of technology, more children are spending much more time indoors, rather than spending time outside, which may expose them to more indoor allergens like dustmites, mold, secondhand smoke and such. Some believe it's the amount of pollution that is in the air from increased industrial businesses or the driving population. These are only a few theories, unfortunately, we cannot stop driving and we certainly cannot shut down or industries.

Fortunately, new asthma treatments are far more advanced and successful at treating the symptoms of asthma. Rather than medications treating the symptoms of an acute asthma attack, medications today emphasize on manageing the disease by controlling it to reduce the the risk of an acute asthma attack. These can range anywhere from once a day oral medications, daily maintenance inhalers, and education about triggers and allergens.

These drugs on the market today have been very successful in preventing the onset of an acute asthma attack when used everyday as prescribed. However, so many users fail to follow their physicians instructions, so education and intervention is necessary. Education about the disease is of major importance to the patient and their families to ensure the upmost understanding of the disease. Studies have shown that the family of a child with asthma, that had had education, had significant less acute attacks or symptoms rather than the family who had not had proper education.

There are certified asthma educators that are specially trained. If you have a child or loved one with asthma, you can contact your local hospital to see if they have an asthma education program, or you can receive additional information from the American Lung Association for assistance as well. Please do not ignore the symptoms of asthma. Although the reported number of deaths due to an acute asthma attack have decreased over the years, it can still be fatal if help is not sought soon enough. Take action now so you or a loved one does not become one of these statistics.