If your son or daughter was born prior to about 37 weeks of gestation, he or she was probably classified as premature at that time. Unfortunately, the earlier that a child is born, the more likely he or she is to experience problems, both short and long-term. A common concern that premature babies face, even after they go home from the hospital, is asthma that is triggered by allergies. Therefore, as a responsible parent of a premature infant, you need to be aware of the following facts about the triggers for your child's asthma and how the symptoms of that disease can best be managed.
Identifying Your Baby's Allergic Asthma
It is first necessary to understand that a premature baby or young child's asthma often presents with different symptoms than an older child or adult would. For instance, he or she might not cough like you might expect, but will instead breathe loudly and their number of respirations per minute can increase more than 50%. In addition, the reduced size of a premature baby's airways means that asthma is frequently a more serious problem than it is for older kids, teens, or adults.
Wheezing is common for asthmatic babies, as it is for their older counterparts, but it can be harder to detect due to their immature lungs. Relief from their symptoms might only occur after a breathing treatment. Frequent asthma attacks may indicate a need for a more effective treatment plan, which could involve increasing or changing medications.
Treating The Issue
Although there is no cure for asthma, there are many ways that it can be managed in order to prevent flare-ups. Some babies have done well with inhalers with adapted tips on inhaled medications as part of a maintenance plan for asthma. However, one of the most important ways you can keep your baby healthy and free of asthmatic episodes that are related to their allergies is to determine which allergens are a problem. When you have that information, you can remove those allergens from your baby's presence and hopefully prevent future episodes.
Since the symptoms of asthma include narrowed airways that occur as the result of their consistent irritation and those narrowed airways are frequently more sensitive to allergens, knowing what is causing the initial irritation is essential. Therefore, skin and blood testing for allergic reactions are often recommended, as is the use of an elimination diet for your baby if certain foods are thought to be the problem. In addition, if you're nursing the baby, you might also be asked to remove foods from your diet that are suspected to cause the reaction.
In conclusion, asthma that is triggered by allergies is a common problem for many preemies and managing their disease in order to prevent flare-ups can be quite challenging. As a result, it is very important to consider the information shared above when you are making plans for the on-going medical care that your delicate baby will require. You can also check out sites like http://www.drdianeozog.com for more information.
Share22 May 2017
I have struggled with allergies my entire life, and my health issues kept me from enjoying playgrounds and outdoor sports like the other kids. When my daughter started to sniffle and sneeze when she turned seven, I knew that I didn't want to stop my child from experiencing a fulfilling childhood. After a meeting with an allergist and a blood test, I found out that my daughter was allergic to pollen during the spring, summer, and fall months. I decided to allow my daughter to start shot therapy. While my daughter built up an immunity to the allergens, I decided to lessen symptoms by using natural health techniques. I found a variety of options online. Unfortunately, I had to weed through a great deal of information to find out what worked and what didn't. Let my research and trials guide you, so you can find out what really works.
