Childhood Asthma Treatment in Louisville, KY

If you’re in the Louisville area and think your child has asthma, the board-certified pediatricians at Kaplan Barron Pediatrics are here to help! Our pediatricians provide comprehensive diagnosis and compassionate treatment for your child’s asthmatic symptoms. If your child is experiencing symptoms of asthma, call Kaplan Barron Pediatrics at (502) 452-6337 to schedule an appointment today!

What Is Asthma?

Asthma is a chronic lung disease that makes it difficult for air to pass through your lungs properly. It can start at any age and nearly 26 million Americans have asthma, 7 million of them being children. Unfortunately, there is no cure for asthma. However, with proper management, people living with asthma can live completely normal and healthy lives without asthma.

What Causes Asthma?

The swollen airways in the lungs become sensitive to certain triggers, and when those triggers enter the body, those airways create extra mucus making it difficult to breathe which leads to asthma attacks, complications, and sometimes death. The key is to understand the triggers that cause asthma. Sometimes, you may not even know you have it until you’re exposed to those triggers. This means the environment you live in is a huge cause and risk factor of asthma. Additionally, genetics is a risk factor for asthma.

Symptoms of Asthma

You may be wondering if your child has asthma, but unsure if it’s something else. If any of these symptoms occur chronically or only around certain triggers, they may have asthma:

• Shortness of breath
• Chest tightness or pain
• Wheezing when exhaling
• Trouble sleeping due to shortness of breath, coughing or wheezing
• Coughing or wheezing attacks that are worsened by a respiratory virus, such as a cold or the flu

However, it’s very possible a variety of other conditions are causing these symptoms, such as different allergies. Consult with your pediatrician about whether or not your child has asthma.

5 Common Triggers for Asthma

• Viral infections such as the common cold
• Exposure to air pollutants, such as tobacco smoke
• Allergies to dust mites, pet dander, pollen or mold
• Physical activity
• Weather changes or cold air

Diagnosis & Treatment for Asthma

A pediatrician will need to conduct tests to diagnose your child. First, they will ask for symptoms, medical history, experiences, etc. to get a good sense if asthma is a possibility. After that, the most common test is called a Spirometry, in which the pediatrician will use a device to measure the airflow of the lungs.

Typically, if your child has the above symptoms, has a parent with asthma, and also has allergies (including skin allergies), your pediatrician will conduct a lung functioning test. After that, usually, a trial period of asthma medication will be given, depending on the results, with a follow-up appointment to monitor the outcome.

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