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BREATHING More Easily
MANAGING ASTHMA WITH INHALED CORTICOSTEROIDS
By Kathleen Kelly Shanovich, APNP, and Kate Swenson, APNP
I
f your child has been coughing a lot lately and his rescue inhaler
(albuterol) is not working as well as before, your health care provider may prescribe an inhaled corti- costeroid. You may wonder about its safety and how it will help your child’s asthma.
Controlling Asthma Asthma is a chronic disease that results in changes in the breathing tubes in the lungs.
* Muscles become tight around the airways.
* Airway walls thicken.
* Thick mucous is produced in the airways.
* Airways become twitchy or re- act easily to triggers such as smoke
or allergens. According to the Environmental
Protection Agency, asthma affects an estimated 7.1 million children nationally. Poorly controlled asthma is the leading cause of children missing school, with 10.5 million school days missed annually.
The goal of asthma care is asthma control by decreasing symptoms and helping children live full, active lives. This is done by starting an inhaled medicine, also called an inhaled corticosteroid, at low doses and stepping up the dose if necessary. The dose can also be stepped down again if your child is doing well. Inhaled cortico- steroids may be prescribed either daily or for use only when your child needs them most: with colds or, for some children, during their allergy seasons.
Asthma is managed by following
best practice guidelines as outlined in the National Asthma Education & Prevention Program (NAEPP, 2007). These guidelines summarize ideal asthma management. A stepwise approach is used in caring for children with asthma. Step 1 is intermittent care (meaning no daily asthma controller medicine use); step 2 and above means that your child would benefit from a daily asthma medicine.
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