Patients, Families, and Kids
The MCPHD offers a free asthma referral service:
- Services offered:
- Asthma education;
- Environmental assessment of the home, schools, workplace;
- Public Health Nurse;
- Smoking cessation;
- Social work;
- Nutritionist.
Dietician covering Kids Medicaid/Hoosier Healthwise assistance
Education offered for topics such as:
- Appropriate developmental tasks and expectations;
- Asthma action plan;
- Asthma self management;
- Adherence to asthma action plan;
- Home/work/school environment assessment;
- Peak flow monitoring;
- Trigger identification;
- Common symptoms and early detection;
- Socio-economic and psychosocial concerns.
How is Asthma manifested in Children?
The main asthma symptom is a chronic dry cough. In this case, kid does not get fever and sputum does not separate.
The second common symptom – attacks of suffocation in contact with certain substances on which the child has an allergy, or because of respiratory tract infections development. During an asthma attack, bronchi swell and fill with viscous mucus.
Depending on frequency and severity of attacks, asthma in children may be:
- mild;
- moderate;
- severe.
Asthma attack begins with a cough, then shortness of breath develops (sensation of lack of air).
The child’s breathing is noisy and whistling, even from a distance. Often before the attack there is a runny nose, nasal congestion, an itchy rash on skin. Older children at such times may complain of feeling of contraction in chest and lack of air.