Many parents worry when their toddler is given the diagnosis of asthma by their pediatrician. The symptoms of asthma could be:
- Wheezing.
- Deep congested cough.
- Difficulty in breathing.
These symptoms generally start after the toddler is exposed to common cold. So, many kids have runny nose along with above symptoms. Generally, these kids are playful, they are eating well and they do not have fever. But the deep congested cough is bothersome and it is usually worse at night. Night time worsening of symptoms causes lot of stress to the family.
Treatments for early childhood asthma is simple and it works in most patients:
- Albuterol via nebulization or via inhaler
- Inhaled corticosteroids.
- Oral steroids if wheezing is extensive and child has difficulty in breathing.
Good news is long term outcome of early childhood asthma is excellent and most kids grow out of this problem by the time they are 2-5 years old and many more by 13 years of age. In some patients, symptoms of asthma can persist, especially if there is a strong family history of asthma, history of eczema or allergies in child etc.