What causes asthma in children?

Bronchitis is associated with colds, inflammation, irritation, phlegm and coughing, and more asthma. The onset of asthma in children may vary according to age and from different causes. Asthma in children is mainly caused by inhaled allergens and the onset is more urgent. What causes asthma in children? When asthma starts, the main symptom is an irritating dry cough, followed by wheezing symptoms, which are different. Treatment takes some time and it is impossible to return to normal immediately, but you can take some Chinese medicine, which is very effective.

Causes

The prevalence of asthma around the world ranges from 0.1% to 32%. The reasons may be related to genetic genes, age, geographical location, climate, environment, race, industrialization, urbanization, interior decoration, living standards, eating habits, etc.

Clinical manifestations

The onset may be acute or slow. Infants and young children often have 1 to 2 days of upper respiratory tract allergy symptoms before the onset of asthma, including nasal itching, sneezing, clear runny nose, rubbing nose, etc., and gradually develop coughing and wheezing. In older children, the onset of the disease is often sudden, often starting with a coughing fit, followed by wheezing, difficulty breathing, etc.

1. Symptoms and signs during acute attack

The main symptoms of an acute asthma attack include coughing, wheezing, difficulty breathing, chest tightness, etc. The typical presentation is episodic expiratory dyspnea with wheezing. In mild attacks, paroxysmal cough and chest tightness are the main symptoms. During a severe attack, the child becomes restless, sits up to breathe, shrugs and gasps, has a pale face, flaring nostrils, blue lips and nails, cold sweats all over the body, and cannot speak coherent words. The "three-depression sign" is obvious, with abnormal chest and abdominal movements, thorax bulging, percussion sound is too clear, exhalation is prolonged, and most have widespread wheezing mainly in the expiratory phase. If the airway obstruction is severe, the breath sounds may be significantly weakened, while the wheezing sounds may weaken or even disappear. The heart rate increases, and signs such as distended neck veins and pulsus paradoxus may appear. In severe cases, heart failure may occur, resulting in widespread medium and small bubbling sounds at the lung bases, enlarged liver, and edema. The symptoms of an acute asthma attack can be relieved by treatment with bronchodilators or on their own over a few hours to a few days.

2. Symptoms and signs during remission

During the remission period, all symptoms and signs of most children disappear. Some children feel chest tightness and weakened breath sounds when auscultating their lungs, but there is often no wheezing.

examine

1. Bronchial provocation test

Check the airway responsiveness of the child. Currently, inhaled histamine, acetylcholine, hypertonic saline and other methods are used clinically to stimulate the airway. It is usually expressed as the cumulative inhaled stimulation dose (PD20FEV1) or concentration (PC20FEV1) that causes a 20% decrease in FEV1.

2. Bronchodilator test

Reversible airway obstruction is one of the characteristics of asthma, and the bronchodilator test is an examination to evaluate the reversibility of airway obstruction.

3. Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF)

Maximum expiratory flow rate variability monitoring includes daily variability and weekly variability monitoring. Calculation of the daily variability requires measurement of PEF between 6 and 8 a.m. and 6 and 8 p.m.; calculation of the weekly variability requires measurement of PEF in the morning and evening every day. A variability rate ≥ 20% is strong evidence in support of asthma.

4. Other auxiliary examinations

Pulmonary ventilation function, blood gas analysis, chest X-ray, etc. can help understand the severity of asthma and whether there are complications such as atelectasis, pneumothorax or mediastinal emphysema. Skin allergen tests and serum total IgE and specific IgE testing also have auxiliary diagnostic significance.