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Asthma – What is Asthma in Children? | Child Asthma

Simply, asthma in children is called as childhood asthma. When translated in a medical language, it is called Asthmatic Bronchitis. Again, it simply means a kind of bronchitis, which is asthmatic in nature.It will be important to know what does asthma mean, in the first place. Asthma means panting, in Greek. In reality, asthma is more then panting. For example, if you exert yourself with intense exercise, you feel panting, but that is not asthma.

Asthma means breathlessness due to the constriction of the respiratory tubes. The constriction of the large and small tubes of the lung may be because of the spasm caused by certain factors.The lung is the main organ of the respiratory system and its main function is respiration. Air enters the nose where it is filtered, warmed and humidified. After passing through the trachea, the air travels into the lungs through the bronchi.

The smallest of the bronchi, the bronchioles, open into balloon-like sacs called alveoli.An asthma attack occurs when these airways narrow and the muscles around them tightly contract. The membranes lining the inner walls of the airways become swollen and inflamed, and the glands within these walls produce excess mucus.

No one really knows why more and more children are developing asthma. Some experts suggest that children are being exposed to more and more allergens such as dust, air pollution, and second-hand smoke. These factors all are triggers of asthma. Others suspect that children are not exposed to enough childhood illnesses to build up their immune system. It appears that a disorder of the immune system where the body fails to make enough protective antibodies may play a role in causing asthma.

And still others suggest that decreasing rates of breastfeeding have prevented important substances of the immune system from being passed on to babies.The inflammation of the airways makes them very sensitive, resulting in spasm of the airways that tend to narrow, particularly when the lungs are exposed to an insult such as viral infection, allergens, cold air, exposure to smoke, and exercise. Reduced caliber of the airways results in a reduction in the amount of air going into lungs, making it hard to breathe.

Things that trigger asthma differ from person to person. Some common triggers are exercise, allergies, viral infections, and smoke. When a person with asthma is exposed to a trigger, their sensitive airways become inflamed, swell up, and fill with mucus. In addition, the muscles lining the swollen airways tighten and constrict, making them even more narrowed and blocked.