What’s The Deal With All Of These Kids Being Diagnosed With Asthma?

[daycare]

has anyone else noticed this?

[Crystal]

Poor air quality. Especially now with all of the wild fires we have been having in Cali.

Although, I have, in the past,had children diagnosed with "cold induced asthma" Meaning, the child is sick, but we'll diagnose it as asthma so he can return to daycare.

[NeedaVaca]

I personally think it's due to pollution, the tons of chemicals we put on our bodies and cleaning products in the house and diet (processed foods etc), and the anti bacterial products being used.

[daycare]

Poor air quality. Especially now with all of the wild fires we have been having in Cali.

Although, I have, in the past,had children diagnosed with "cold induced asthma" Meaning, the child is sick, but we'll diagnose it as asthma so he can return to daycare.

I myself was diagnosed with is earlier this year.. I have never had it before in my life. I know that the lack of rain is creating very poor air quality then add in all of the seasonal allergens going around due to the lack of rain.

i am in farm county so i get hit hard with allergies. I never had allergies until I moved here.

I am about ready to go back the beach...I miss new port

[Rockgirl]

Poor air quality. Especially now with all of the wild fires we have been having in Cali.

Although, I have, in the past,had children diagnosed with "cold induced asthma" Meaning, the child is sick, but we'll diagnose it as asthma so he can return to daycare.

My doctor diagnosed me with this a few years ago. It really only bothers me when I run during winter. Before I started using an inhaler, I'd cough for about an hour every morning after running.

[Unregistered]

The introduction of antibacterial anything played a huge role in the massive increase in food allergies and asthma. Google increased number of children with asthma and you'll find tons of information

[Febby]

I haven't seen an increase here. None of my current children are diagnosed with it. One at my last center was, but only one. But we haven't had a significant change in air quality.

I do have asthma and was diagnosed pretty young (four, I think?), but that was obviously a while back and it's stuck with me. It gets worse if the air is bad, but it's always there.

[stephanie]

Yep, poor air quality, and I've also heard that children living in poverty are more likely to have asthma, since air pollution may be worse in lower income areas, and children in poverty may be more exposed to cigarette smoke, chemical fumes, etc. that contribute to asthma. So I'm sure it varies by state/region as well.

[Ariana]

My kids have dairy allergies, more specifically allergies to whey. According to some of the articles I have read whey allergies can show up as Asthma in later life. So all of those kids with dairy allergies who "grow out of it" don't actually grow out of it, it turns into asthma. I know at least 3 kids with dairy allergies who ended up developing asthma as soon as the DR told them to go ahead and eat dairy. My husband has severe asthma and has given up dairy and it has helped him tremendously. We went on vacation and he ate dairy for 2 weeks and he had to start taking his inhaler (which had expired he hadn't used it in so long) again.

I am sure this is only one of many things contributing to it. I also think misdiagnosis is a big one as well and DR's wanting to give puffers for everything.

[Unregistered]

Poor air quality. Especially now with all of the wild fires we have been having in Cali.

Although, I have, in the past,had children diagnosed with "cold induced asthma" Meaning, the child is sick, but we'll diagnose it as asthma so he can return to daycare.

That is not true. My daughter has cold induced asthma and it is a real thing. The illness is a trigger for asthma just like an allergy is for some kids. It makes their airways constrict. WE have spent multiple nights in the ER from a minor cold. It is not a fake illness people have to allow their kids into school, however, I'm sure some can abuse this when they are really sick just like some people can take advantage of everything.

[Unregistered]

That is not true. My daughter has cold induced asthma and it is a real thing. The illness is a trigger for asthma just like an allergy is for some kids. It makes their airways constrict. WE have spent multiple nights in the ER from a minor cold. It is not a fake illness people have to allow their kids into school, however, I'm sure some can abuse this when they are really sick just like some people can take advantage of everything.

Also- many people did not seek treatment a long time ago if it was not that bad. However, most people now know that it is very scary to play the waiting game to see if your child will outgrow it. They definitely can outgrow it but it can lead to scarring on the lungs. We kept thinking wow my daughter just gets REALLY sick a lot and she was sick for 4 months straight one time. By the time we thought asthma we went to the dr and her blood oxygen level was so low they had to transport her to the hospital. When we saw an asthma specialist she had scarring on her lungs. This scarring can lead to COPD in grown ups even if the child has outgrown the asthma as many do when their airways expand. So knowledge of the dangers has led more to seek treatment leading to more diagnosis.

[daycare]

My kids have dairy allergies, more specifically allergies to whey. According to some of the articles I have read whey allergies can show up as Asthma in later life. So all of those kids with dairy allergies who "grow out of it" don't actually grow out of it, it turns into asthma. I know at least 3 kids with dairy allergies who ended up developing asthma as soon as the DR told them to go ahead and eat dairy. My husband has severe asthma and has given up dairy and it has helped him tremendously. We went on vacation and he ate dairy for 2 weeks and he had to start taking his inhaler (which had expired he hadn't used it in so long) again.

I am sure this is only one of many things contributing to it. I also think misdiagnosis is a big one as well and DR's wanting to give puffers for everything.

Interesting... I actually don't consume dairy but this is interesting. I have heard other people say something similar.

can allergy test be conducted in children under 5

[Crystal]

That is not true. My daughter has cold induced asthma and it is a real thing. The illness is a trigger for asthma just like an allergy is for some kids. It makes their airways constrict. WE have spent multiple nights in the ER from a minor cold. It is not a fake illness people have to allow their kids into school, however, I'm sure some can abuse this when they are really sick just like some people can take advantage of everything.

Oh, I know that in some cases it is a "real" thing. But, I have seen MANY whose parents demand a dignosis from the Dr. so he can return to care, and it ends up being cold-induced asthma, even though the child had never previously exhibited any symptoms of asthma, and did not after the cold went away, even with subsequent colds.

I have had children who had the "real" thing (cold-induced) but it didn't just magically go away after one cold, it happened every time they got a cold. They also had allergies that would trigger attacks.

Sorry if my post made it sound like ALL cold-induced asthma diagnosis' were provided to allow child to return to care.

[mommyneedsadayoff]

I think asthma has a lot to do with our food system. I think a lot of the allergies also come from our food system. We eat crappy food, we get sick more often and for longer periods of time (chronic everything), and we use meds to fix it, rather than changing out diet. The only thing is that changing the diet is not always helpful if the processing and production of food does not change. I think this is why local farms are becoming so popular and the large corps are starting to see the trend and attempt to offer whole foods without all the extras.

[Thriftylady]

My daughter has asthma. It took us moving for me to get her a new doctor to find it out. He doctor told me she just had "a snot nosed cold" from the time she was born until we moved here to Ohio when she was seven. She would have "colds" for months on end, which I found odd. After we moved to Ohio her new doctor ended up diagnosing her with Asthma. I guess what I am saying is that it is possible for cases to go a long time without being diagnosed, especially when parents like myself know little about it.

My daughter who does pretty well with it in the summer (except for when swimming a lot, something about it gets her I think it is the odor of the chemicals). But now true to form this time of year her allergies started up, and she is wheezing and coughing up a storm and will likely be pretty constantly until spring. It is NOT a fake issue, and most doctors won't just "fake" it. DD had to have THREE doctors visits where there was wheezing before the doctor could make a diagnosis, the doctor said that was the medical standard because you can wheeze and not have asthma.

It is a SERIOUS chronic condition and to take a lax attitude about it as a childcare professional is dangerous.