Childhood Asthma Treatment in Santa Barbara, CA

Asthma is a chronic lung disease that makes it difficult for air to pass through your lungs properly. It can start at any age and nearly 26 million Americans have asthma, 7 million of them being children. Unfortunately, there is no cure of asthma. However, with proper management, people living with asthma can live completely normal and healthy lives without asthma. Dr. Charish Barry is a board-certified pediatrician with extensive experience diagnosing and treating children with asthma. Call (805) 845-1221 to schedule an appointment at our pediatric clinic in Santa Barbara, CA today!

The Causes of Asthma

The swollen airways in the lungs become sensitive to certain triggers, and when those triggers enter the body, those airways create extra mucus making it difficult to breathe which leads to asthma attacks, complications and sometimes death. The key is to understand the triggers that cause asthma. Sometimes, you may not even know you have it until you’re exposed to those triggers. This means the environment you live in is a huge cause and risk factor of asthma. Additionally, genetics is a risk factor for asthma.

Symptoms of Asthma

You may be wondering if your child has asthma, but unsure if it’s something else. If any of these symptoms occur chronically or only around certain triggers, they may have asthma:

Goals for Treating Asthma

The main goals for treating asthma include:

1. Short-term relief
2. Long-term control
3. Manage the symptoms
4. Reduce asthma attacks
5. Know how to prevent an emergency
6. Create a personal action plan with your pediatrician

Asthma treatments work by:

1. Relaxing the muscles that tighten around the airways and help remove and reduce mucus
2. They reduce the swelling and mucus inside the airways

How is Asthma Treated?

There are several options to treat asthma, as it is a fairly common condition.

The main treatments include:

• Medications
• Injections
• Surgery
• Other Therapies

What are Asthma Medications?

Treating asthma with medication is the most common treatment option. There are various ways these medications can be delivered, with inhalers being the most common. An inhaler is a small, handheld device that delivers medication directly to your child’s lungs.

You can receive asthma medication through:

Inhalers

• Reliever inhalers -you use a reliever inhaler to treat your symptoms when they occur and usually works within minutes.
• Preventer inhalers -a preventer inhaler contains a steroid medicine and is used daily to reduce the inflammation and sensitivity of your airways, which stops your symptoms occurring

Nebulizers

• A machine changes asthma medications from a liquid to a mist so it’s easier to get the medicine into your child’s lungs
• Usually used if your child is having trouble with inhalers
• Cromolyn sodium is a mast cell stabilizer that prevents the release of certain natural chemicals into your child’s body that can be delivered through a nebulizer

Tablets

• Leukotriene receptor antagonists (LTRAs) may also be in a syrup or powder form to prevent symptoms
• Theophylline can be taken daily to avoid symptoms
• Steroid tablets are usually a last resort if you don’t respond to other treatments
• Your child will probably take more medicine when they begin treatment to get control of their asthma. Once their asthma is well-controlled, your pediatrician may be able to reduce the amount of medicine they take.

Injections

For some people with severe asthma, injections of medicines called biologic therapies are given every few weeks. These can help to control the symptoms. They are not suitable for everyone with asthma and can only be prescribed by an asthma specialist. Talk with Dr. Barry to see if injections are the right choice for you to manage your asthma.

Your Child Deserves Personalized Care

Call for an Appointment Today!

 (805) 845-1221