Asthma is a disease characterized by the periodic inflammation and constriction of the small airways in response to particular stimuli and that responds to specific treatment. Asthma is also sometimes called “reactive airway disease” and, in the past, might have been termed “recurrent bronchitis.”

Asthma is largely an inherited disease. Children who have an immediate family member who has asthma, allergies, and/or eczema (also called “atopic dermatitis”) is genetically predisposed to, but not certain to, develop asthma. An analogy might be that if a mother has blond hair, her children are likely, but not certain, to have blond hair, fair skin, and/or light-colored eyes.

Some breathing tests are available to diagnose asthma. These tests can only confirm the diagnosis, they cannot rule it out. These tests require a somewhat mature patient, generally greater than five years of age. However, we commonly diagnose asthma in much younger patients, given their clinical course, their response to medicine, and by ruling out other diagnoses.

There are several treatment options for patients with asthma. For acute problems, the primary medicines used act to dilate or widen the patient’s lower airways to allow more air to pass through. Medicines such as albuterol, levalbuterol (Xopenex), and maxair are examples. Medicines may be delivered via a nebulizer or “breathing machine” or by metered-dose inhaler or “puffer.” Younger children often need a device called a spacer to coordinate a metered-dose inhaler. For more severe attacks, steroids such as prednisone, orapred, or dexamethasone are used to block the inflammation in the airways.

Some patients with asthma have more persistent or severe symptoms. For those patients, doctors commonly prescribe a preventive medicine to block the symptoms. The acute attacks are still treated exactly the same way, but if a patient uses his/her preventive medicine daily, such events should only occur rarely. Commonly prescribed preventive medicines include Advair, pulmicort, flovent, and singulair.

There are many other ways in which your doctor may help your asthma. Allergy avoidance or treatment, environmental modifications, and sometimes even diet changes for infants can be of benefit. If your child has asthma, there are many things we can do to help, so let us know how we can better serve you.