When your child has some coughing, wheezing, or shortness of breath, it is time to give her albuterol, the quick-relief medicine. If she needs to use albuterol more than two times in one day, it is time to move to the next step in the management plan. When a child has a cold or asthma flare for any other reason (such as coming in contact with a neighbor's pet or visiting a home where a smoker lives), she will also develop more symptoms and need quick-relief medicine. Whether a child needs quick-relief medicines two times in a day for a cold or any other reason, an asthma flare is starting, and it's time to move to the next step in the management plan albuterol and extra inhaled corticosteroids.
Monitoring Symptoms and Recognizing When A Flare Is Starting For asthma control to be ideal, it is important to recognize changes in symptoms.
Your careful observations will help determine whether your child's asthma is becoming better or worse. Symptoms vary from child to child and may include coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, rapid breathing, difficulty catching his breath, chest pain, or increased mucus in the chest. These symptoms may appear alone or in combination with one another. You can monitor symptoms in two basic ways: by recognizing and tracking symptoms as they appear or by measuring breathing with a peak flow meter. The National Institutes of Health recognizes both methods as accurate. The choice depends on the child, family, and physi-cian or nurse practitioner to determine what is best.
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