“Can I play?” and “Will I be able to be like other kids?”
By and large, the children I work with just really want to know “Can I play?” and “Will I be able to be like other kids?”– they want to be reassured that they are no different than any other child. I tell children all the time that kids with asthma can be and do and play just like every other child. And theycan be just like every other kid who leads a happy, healthy life– if they’re willing to learn, and are supported by family and friends, in good asthma self management. No question that it takes a little more effort and some resiliency. My job is to help them learn, support their goals and bolster their self confidence in knowing that kids with asthma really can do anything they set their hearts and mind to.
Amy Burack, RN, MA, AE C, Former Community Asthma Programs Manager
“How can my child possibly have asthma? She doesn’t wheeze”
“How can my child possibly have asthma? She doesn’t wheeze” is something we hear from a lot of parents. There are plenty of children with asthma who don’t wheeze but who cough incessantly. There are some children whose asthma is so severe that they not only don’t wheeze or cough, there are no breath sounds at all; the airways being so inflamed and narrowed that air can’t move around enough to generate any sound. Parents need to be educated that each child with asthma is different in terms of severity levels, signs and symptoms, triggers and response to medications. What applies to one child, doesn’t necessarily apply to the next. I like to reinforce with parents that their children are unique and special in every way including how their asthma affects them.
Amy Burack, RN, MA, AE C, Former Community Asthma Programs Manager
Parents can be shocked
Often times parents come in to our offices having been being seen by their child’s primary care physician, but have never been told that their child has asthma. When they first hear the word they say “Well, I didn’t know s/he had asthma.” What we try to do is emphasize the fact that their child is still the same child with the same set of symptoms, but we are just labeling it differently so that they can understand better what to expect and what medications are to be used and what they ought to be aware of as triggers. It’s often times a shock to parents– even when they have been dealing with this awhile and the child has been receiving all the asthma medicines– somehow it’s never been made clear to them that the possible diagnosis for their child is asthma.
Frank Twarog, MD, PhD, Allergist