Managing Asthma in Infants

Children are more likely to develop asthma if there's a family history of allergies and asthma. The most difficult part of treating an infant with asthma is that the child is not old enough to communicate what’s wrong. It is very difficult to obtain lung functions in case of the infants.

Diagnosing infant asthma is quite difficult, because infant asthma symptoms can be so subtle that you might not suspect it. Your infant can't describe for you or your doctor how he or she is feeling, your doctor relies on your case history and description of the symptoms as well as how your baby acts.

Many infants will experience some wheezing after an upper respiratory tract infection. However, if your infant does this frequently, it increases the chances your child has infant asthma. Depending on your child’s asthma signs and symptoms, your doctor may prescribe below medications to control your infant’s asthma.

If the asthma symptoms are mild or intermittent, then a shot acting beta adrenergic in a nebulizer or oral syrup shall be prescribed to reduce the airway obstruction. If your child suffers from more severe symptoms, then a daily long-term preventive medication via nebulizer or inhaler with spacer shall be prescribed.
Children under the 2 years old aren’t able to use a peak flow meter; you may consider using a stethoscope to listen to your child’s lungs. Some parents find that using a stethoscope can help them detect an asthma attack in their child. Holding the nebulizer or inhaler several inches from your child’s face and nose and merely misting the medication does not help your child, because the medication does not enter the lungs effectively. In case of young asthmatic children, to administer the dose correctly using nebulizer or inhaler with spacer and mask, you can use music, toys, and cartoon videos as helpful distraction for your infant.