How We Can Help With Your Child's Asthma

How We Can Help With Your Child's Asthma

Childhood asthma affects more than seven million children in the United States alone. This statistic, from the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology points to the need for accurate and compassionate diagnosis, emergency treatment and ongoing Asthmamanagement. Families in the Kennesaw area look to pediatrician Kola Ologunja, MD, at Spectrum Pediatric Group for help with asthma.

Symptoms of Childhood Asthma

Typically, children exhibit several common symptoms when their asthma is on the rise. Signs include:

  • Wheezing on expiration
  • Persistent night time coughing
  • Restlessness
  • A feeling of tightness in the chest during exercise or exposure to cold air
  • Labored breathing characterized by retractions of the skin above and below the breast bone
  • Frequent colds

The causes of these symptoms vary, but heredity and environmental factors, such as pet dander and cigarette smoke, are often cited.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Asthma

Your Kennesaw pediatrician, Dr. Ologunja, diagnoses asthma from presenting symptoms, breath sounds and spirometry, a simple test in which the child blows into a device which measures how much air he or she can exhale. Dr. Ologunja also performs diagnostics to rule out conditions which mimic asthma--acid reflux disease, allergic rhinitis and respiratory tract infections, such as bronchitis.

Regarding treatment, the team at Spectrum Pediatric Group in Kennesaw offers emergency medications. This is often inhaled bronchodilators. Other prescription medications containing anti-inflammatories provide long-term control of asthma episodes.

Additionally, annual flu shots help young asthmatics get through the winter season without the worry of this potentially serious illness. Allergy testing pinpoints asthma trigger. Some children benefit from immunotherapy or allergy shots.

Your Kennesaw pediatrician Dr. Ologunja advises noting what starts your child's asthma symptoms and what best relieves them. He often prescribes tracking how well your child can blow air out of his lungs with a simple device called a peak flow meter. Peak flow readings help patients understand when an attack is coming and when symptoms are resolving.

Asthma Can be Managed

And, Spectrum Pediatric Group can help you do it. Find out how your child can breathe easier, miss fewer days of school and fully participate in sports. Call (770) 966-0778 for a convenient appointment time, and get the right treatment plan for childhood asthma.