Alternative solutions to treat childhood asthma before it requires an inhaler

By Nick Rees

Seven million children, or 9.4 percent of all children, are currently afflicted with asthma according to statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control in 2008.

Asthma related care leads to 13.3 million visits to physicians officers, hospitals and emergency rooms every year and 3,447 deaths per year, the CDC reports.

The CDC also reports that asthma prevalence, by 2006, was at an historic high in the United States following dramatic increases from 1980 through the late 1990s. Childhood asthma prevalence more than doubled from 1980 to the mid-1990s.

"Asthma can develop very early in life, but usually it isn't diagnosed until a few years of age, depending on how often they're having symptoms" Dr. David Oppenheim, MD, selected as a Chicago Top Doctor by TopTierMD as a top rated pediatrician in Chicago, says. "There are some viruses that can cause symptoms that aren't the same in terms of a chronic predisposition, but it's difficult to tell if the young child has that virus or if its chronic asthma just developing, so we can't make the diagnosis right away."

In children, asthma is one of the leading chronic disease and a major cause of childhood disability, limiting the child's ability to play, learn and sleep.

"Parents need to be on the lookout for chronic coughing and wheezing in children," Dr. Oppenheim says. "Asthma is a very treatable disease but parents need to recognize that their are lots of children that might have asthma.

"Once a child has been diagnosed as having asthma, we can provide long-acting protective treatments or preventative therapy that will help them avoid recurring symptoms."

Thanks to preventative measures, gone are the days of children needing to constantly rely on an inhaler to get them through the day, Dr. Oppenheim says.

"We have two types of therapy - one is preventative and one is abortive," Dr. Oppenheim says. "For the abortive therapy, which would be medicine like Albuterol, you take the medicine when you're having symptoms. If that's happening regularly, you should be on a preventative therapy like a steroid, which will prevent symptoms.

"With preventative therapy, for many, asthma can be a non-factor in their life. Instead of taking a puffer every day or two for their wheezing, they should be on a different kind of inhaled medicine for preventative therapy. People need to realize that there are options and that they shouldn't always be using a quicker fix.

"There are various degrees of asthma. Some people might have more significant asthma and some might have a milder case. When treated appropriately, we can control asthma to the extent that patients just take their medicine daily and then they can go on their way without significant problems."

Dr. David Oppenheim, MD, was selected by TopTierMD as a Chicago Top Doctor and is considered Best in Pediatrics in Chicago. He specializes in well child care and the treatment of asthma.