As soon as Changsha cools down, many children's respiratory tract can suffer, and children's respiratory infections and wheezing, for parents, is a necessary journey for children to grow up.
But if the child has wheezing after each respiratory infection, 3-4 times a year, then parents should pay attention, because the child may not be a simple respiratory infection, it may be a preference for preschool children's asthma "in the picture"!
Wheezing after respiratory infections
Why should it be associated with or identified with asthma?
The mother of Xiao Cong (pseudonym), who is more than 1 year old, has been annoyed recently:
Weather changes and the climate is not adaptable to other places, Xiao Cong has been to the hospital several times in the past year because of cough and wheezing, and it can generally be controlled after anti-infection treatment. This has happened many times since I contracted respiratory syncytial virus pneumonia last October.
After many days of treatment in the local hospital, Xiao Cong's parents combined and went back to Changsha to find Director Liu Hong at Hunan Women and Children's Hospital!
But why does Xiao Cong have wheezing as soon as he catches a cold?
Director Liu Hong felt that this was not an ordinary respiratory infection, and Xiao Cong was too young to cooperate with the completion of routine lung function, bronchodilation test and bronchial challenge test.
So while improving the relevant examinations, Director Liu Hong also carefully asked Xiao Cong's entire past medical history, and even touched the parents' situation.
Xiao Cong's parents felt very strange when they saw the treatment of cough and actually wanted to ask about the whole family, but the final result surprised the parents.
➡️ Have had respiratory syncytial virus pneumonia (bronchioleumon)
➡️ Dust mite allergy +++
➡️ History of eczema
➡️ There were more than 3 wheezing in a year
➡️ Parents have allergic rhinitis
After reviewing the literature, reference guides, combing and analyzing the characteristics of the disease, the root cause of Xiao Cong's repeated cough, wheezing and lung infection in the past year has finally been found - comprehensive research and judgment, Xiao Cong meets the characteristics of infantile asthma.
Wheezing every time you get a respiratory infection
Is asthma 3-4 times a year?
Asthma, full name bronchial asthma, is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways involving a variety of cells (such as eosinophils, mast cells, etc.).
In 1990, the cumulative prevalence of asthma among children under 14 years of age in mainland cities was 1.09%, rising to 1.97% in 2000 and reaching 3.02% in 2010.
Therefore, how to identify infantile asthma from infantile wheezing, especially recurrent wheezing, and administering appropriate interventions is important for clinical asthma control.
The 2021 GINA Asthma Guidelines describe wheezing, wheezing, after recurrent respiratory infections, in children under 5 years of age:
➡️ With each upper respiratory tract infection, symptoms (cough, wheezing, straining breathing) appear greater than 10 days;
➡️ more than 3 episodes per year, or severe and/or worsening at night;
➡️ Between episodes, the child may have cough/wheezing/straining breathing.
If the above conditions are met, it may be asthma.
Because the diagnosis of respiratory diseases in children is a complex process, the symptoms are relatively similar, which is easy to miss. This requires doctors to combine the observation of clinical symptoms and medical history and other information, can not simply focus on a disease, with a single visit to diagnose, need a series of tests to find the cause.
Xiao Cong is to fully meet all the conditions above may be asthma or may be asthma, Director Liu Hong needs to consider asthma, enter the diagnosis process of asthma, and finally diagnose the diagnosis for standardized treatment.
According to Xiao Cong's condition, Director Liu Hong adhered to the principle of long-term, continuous, standardized and individualized treatment, formulated a standardized treatment plan, and at the same time popularized relevant knowledge to parents and gave guidance on life management.
After a period of treatment, Xiao Cong's symptoms improved significantly, and the parents were very grateful and specially rushed back to Changsha from abroad to send a pennant to Dr. Liu Hong.
For children with repeated wheezing
What parents should do
Avoid asthma triggers
1. Try to avoid or reduce the chance of respiratory infections, and try to go to public places as little as possible during the cold season. In a cold environment, proper attention to keeping warm can consider wearing a mask.
2. Actively avoid contact with allergens and other predisposing factors (such as mites, pollen, mold, animal hair, special odors, cigarettes, etc.).
3. Keep the air in the living room fresh, dry and clean, ventilate and dry the bedding frequently, and there is no irritating odor.
4. The placement of indoor items should be simple, without carpeting, flowers and plants; Avoid worn-out bedding, down, silk, etc.
5. If the child has allergic rhinitis, colds or respiratory infections, etc., it needs to be paid great attention to, go to the hospital for treatment as soon as possible, and intervene early.
Standardized control therapy after diagnosis
➡️ Principles of treatment of asthma: long-term, continuous, standardized, individualized treatment.
➡️ Pay attention to whether there are auras of asthma attacks, such as cough, shortness of breath, chest tightness, etc., once it appears, immediately use the corresponding drugs, if the wheezing symptoms after treatment are not relieved or aggravated after relief, you should go to the hospital as soon as possible.
➡️ After the remission of the disease, the long-term control drug standard treatment should continue to be used, and the hospital should be regularly visited to assess the level of asthma control, and the specialist should adjust the treatment plan in a timely manner until the drug is stopped.
In short, when the child has repeated wheezing or coughing, especially children with allergic constitution, it is recommended that parents take the child to the hospital for early examination and early treatment.
Although asthma is difficult to cure in a short period of time, if children can receive formal treatment early, most children's asthma can be controlled for a long time and clinically cured.
▲This article was reviewed by Liu Hong, deputy chief physician of the Department of Pediatrics of Hunan Women and Children's Hospital
Correspondent: Yang Gen