Health

Over 10%-12% of the children in this country have asthma and this number is rising. It is the most common chronic childhood illness, and its ranks swelled by one more last month: my two-year-old son, Cole. In very young children, simply diagnosing asthma can be tricky but signs include a chronic cough (this is a strong indicator, especially nighttime coughing), rapid or labored breathing, fatigue and less energy when playing, complaints of their chest hurting, wheezing, shortness of breath, and tight neck and chest muscles. All breathing problems should be promptly evaluated by a health care provider, and if speaking a full sentence leaves your child gasping for air, just head to the E.R.

Myriad risk factors are linked to the development of asthma: frequent respiratory infections, black or Hispanic ethnicity, a family history of asthma and allergy, low birth weight, nasal allergies or eczema, obesity, and exposure to tobacco smoke and urban air pollution. The first three risk factors apply to my son, so the diagnosis was disappointing but not completely unexpected. Caregiver information regarding symptoms and family history are key to an accurate diagnosis, and children over age 6 can usually handle a spirometry test which will measure their lung function upon exhalation. While asthma can occur at any age, infants and toddlers with the ailment may outgrow it by age 6.

Careful monitoring and management is the best strategy with asthma. Your physician may not offer an asthma action plan in writing,  but it's important to get detailed information on treatment options – these may change with the seasons, how to identify and control possible asthma attack triggers, and when to head to the emergency room.

Effective treatment options abound with two main types of medications, controller and rescue. Persistent asthma may need daily, maintenance (controller) medicine – either primarily during cold and flu season or year-round – such as inhaled corticosteroids alone, or combined with a bronchodilator. There are also fast-acting (rescue) medications known as metered-dose inhalers (they're actually short-acting bronchodilators), and they can be used to try an halt an  asthma attack. Typically, older kids can handle an inhaler and probably should always have one on-hand for emergencies. Toddlers and infants will most likely have to use a nebulizer with a face mask.  The nebulizer turns liquid medication into a fine mist.

My son uses a nebulizer twice per day and his pediatrician plans to taper off this regimen at the start of the summer. I keep a favorite stuffed toy and several books with his nebulizer kit. The process can take about 10 minutes from set-up to pack-up, and I use the time to read him a story. This helps makes wearing a breathing mask less intimidating and eases any crankiness. Still, seeing your child in a face mask the first time is very unsettling.

If you, too are raising a child with asthma, the following sites may offer some valuable information: webmd.com, mayoclinic.com, and the National Library of Medicine's site offers several resources in Spanish, at nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/asthmainchildren.html.

 

 

 

With the new year, maybe you’re looking for a few easy habits that will help make your family healthier. You can do simple things to improve your family’s health—and that includes their physical, mental and spiritual health.

The new year is a perfect time to find easy ways to break your family’s bad habits and instill some good habits.

The kids do their homework on their way to piano lessons, your family meal is often eaten in front of the TV, and the floor of the family room is covered with shoes, game pieces, and newspapers. Most families don't strive to serve frozen TV dinners every night or purposely ignore the clutter that builds up at home. But busy schedules, growing kids, and any change in lifestyle can trigger the onset of a bad habit. So, how do we teach our kids good habits in the midst of all our bad ones?

Why are our neighbors going hungry?

How can you help the hungry and homeless in and around where you live in Maryland?  “We truly believe ending hunger is a possibility,” says Deborah Flateman, the CEO of the Maryland Food Bank, which distributes food to all counties in Maryland except for Howard and Montgomery (which are served by the Capital Area Food Bank.)

What do you do when the meat-eater you’ve raised declares himself to be a vegetarian child from now on? There are many strategies that can enable your veghead to maintain a healthy, balanced diet without creating much work for you. In fact,  feeding a vegetarian child can lead to a great culinary adventure for the rest of the family.

Go to any mall or public place and you won't have to look around too long before you'll see someone listening to a personal stereo wearing ear buds. Often you can be halfway across the room and hear their playlist loud and clear. The popularity of personal stereos, such as IPods, and MP3 players, means more teens (and adults) are using ear buds to listen to music at high volumes for long periods of time. And it’s starting to cause a serious problem in the form of Noise-Induced Hearing Loss.