Proper Asthma Management Is Key To An Active Childhood

"I tell them that they're going to be able to do almost anything they want." — Dr. Caughman Taylor

They’re on the soccer field, the basketball court, and the baseball diamond. And if they’re not, there’s no reason they can’t be.

Children with asthma can even aspire to be Olympians, inspired by the achievements of athletes Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Amy Van Dyken, and Kurt Grote, all gold medallists, all who have asthma.

“Children with asthma should be able to participate in most, if not all sports,” said Dr. Caughman Taylor, a professor in the Department of Pediatrics with a special interest in asthma and pulmonary disorders. “If they find that they cannot participate, then in most cases their asthma is not receiving the optimum care needed,” he said.

When frequent symptoms such as wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath prevent youngsters from competing in athletics, then Dr. Taylor knows to take a closer look at their asthma management. Are they being compliant and using preventive medicines properly, particularly before engaging in exercise? Are the right medications being prescribed for that particular child? Are other factors, such as sinusitis or allergic rhinitis, affecting the child’s asthma? “What really concerns us is when we see a child who has withdrawn from a sport. I always teach my residents that if a child is being compliant and is not able to live a normal life, then we look at it as a failure in treatment,” he said.

Of the estimated 26.3 million people in the United States that have been diagnosed with asthma, more then one-third of them are under the age of 18. Asthma is the most common chronic health problem among children, and the most frequent cause of hospitalization for youngsters under 15.

Despite the limitations the disease may have imposed on children in the past, Dr. Taylor asserts that asthma should not prevent youngsters from running and jumping and doing everything kids do. “If parents see a child getting in trouble because of exercise, then they might start thinking their child shouldn’t be doing it,” Dr. Taylor. “As physicians, we need to get parents to see the importance of exercise in their child’s overall health.”

Over the years, asthma treatment has improved by introducing medications to control and block inflammation in the airways and by improved delivery of medications that are inhaled. “Spacer devices allow us to get medicine in the kids’ lungs where it needs to work, providing better results with fewer side effects,” said Dr. Taylor. For today’s children with asthma, these changes mean the difference between merely treating their symptoms and effectively managing their disease.

The key to effective management is an individualized treatment plan for each pediatric patient. “Every child is different, and there are a lot of factors involved when talking about a young person with asthma,” Dr. Taylor said. “I tell them that they’re going to be able to do almost anything they want,” he said, reminding his patients of the athletes with asthma that compete on collegiate, professional and Olympic levels. “We just have to find the right medication, delivery system, and overall management plan for each child.”

Reprinted from Connections newsletter, March 2002

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