A change in temperature isn’t the only change that comes with the fall season. Pollens, dust and the occasional wildfire smoke can make breathing a challenge – especially for those who live with asthma. Giuliana Gayoso, MD with Avera Pediatric Pulmonology takes a closer look at this condition and provides information to hopefully allow kids and parents to breathe a little easier.
What exactly is asthma?
“It's a disease, a chronic disease of the windpipes. That's the airways inside our lungs and it's when those airways are more sensitive to things in the environment. That could be like any allergens or any virus and they become more swollen and tight-knit, causing them to produce more mucus, so it's harder for the air to get in and out of the lungs,” said Dr. Gayoso, a pediatric pulmonologist.
Is it something you're born with, or can it pop up at any age?
“It's a little bit of both, so it's not like a birthmark that when you are born with it, you are just born with asthma. But it does have a genetic component. So asthma runs in families and if you are a mom or dad with asthma, the chances of your kids developing asthma are higher compared to other kids. And it's a mix of what kids are exposed to in early years. So for example, the RSV virus. If you're exposed to that virus in your first two years of life, your chances of developing asthma later on increase compared to other kids. So it's a combination of both your genes and what you're exposed to in your early years,” said Dr. Gayoso.
What are some of the common triggers of asthma?
“Every person with asthma is different, and something that triggers my asthma maybe won't trigger your asthma. For kids, the most common triggers are viruses. For example when kids tend to get sick very frequently, especially those that go to daycare or to school, the most common trigger in the early years is really any viral infection. Allergies can also trigger asthma and it could be anything from pollens, weeds, trees, duck down, pet dander and dust mites. Other things like smoking, if kids have parents that smoke or vape, that also that can trigger asthma. Perfumes, especially with strong odors. So there are a thousand things that can trigger asthma. Even exercising can affect some kids,” said Dr. Gayoso.
How is asthma treated and managed?
“In the past, we used to have rescue medications and your daily controller medications. In the more recent years, we're trying to make asthma simpler for everyone. So now we try to use what we call the smart approach. That's just one single inhaler, when you are old enough to do inhalers, to use as your controller and then the same inhaler to use as a rescue when needed. In kids less than 2, they're not able to fully activate or do the spacer with an inhaler, so we use nebulized medication. Again, we're trying to stay away from just using short-acting bronchodilators (inhalers) so we try to also do a dose of inhaled steroids, so that you just use those medications as needed,” said Dr. Gayoso.
What do you hope parents take away from this?
“Keep in mind that asthma is a very common disease. Don't feel bad for having asthma. One in 10 kids have asthma and your kid should be able to do whatever they want. Even with asthma, we have athletes with asthma and they do amazing things. So it's not a bad disease to have. We just want to keep you healthy, and they should be able to do whatever they want,” said Dr. Gayoso.
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