Asthma brings three-quarters of a million children into the emergency department every year. The American College of Emergency Physicians says getting a good asthma management plan organized before an emergency may help your child stay out of the hospital altogether.

“The good news is that fewer children are dying of asthma; the bad news is that it remains the cause of more hospitalizations than any other childhood disease,” said Rita Cydulka, MD of MetroHealth Medical Center/Case Western Reserve University.  “Spring is an ideal time to put together an asthma management plan, before the real trouble starts with the fall allergy and winter flu seasons.”

If you are not sure whether your child has asthma, but he or she has symptoms (coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath), talk to your doctor. After a child has been diagnosed with asthma, the parent or guardian and child should meet with a physician to develop a plan for monitoring asthma symptoms and for medicating the child when trouble develops. 

Some children with asthma will benefit from two types of medication: one they use daily to prevent asthma attacks (“controller” medications or inhalers), and one they use to relieve symptoms (“rescue” inhalers).  Children with asthma should carry a rescue inhaler with them or have one readily available to them at school. 

Consistent use of controller medications can prevent many asthma attacks and help children lead a normal, physically active life.  How and when medications are used may vary from season to season, depending on what an individual child’s triggers are. 

Typical triggers include: exercise; colds and flu; laughing or crying hard; allergens from plants, animals, house dust, cockroach droppings or mold; and irritants such as cold air, chemicals and smoke. Dr. Cydulka recommends that you do what you can to limit your child’s exposure to his or her asthma triggers. 

Be sure to get your child a flu shot as soon as they are available in the fall.  A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that only 30 percent of children with asthma get the flu shot, even though flu can be fatal for people with asthma.

Even with the best planning, some children will have asthma attacks that require immediate attention from an emergency physician at the emergency department.  The following conditions should prompt a call for emergency help: