Children asthma

The word asthma originates from an ancient Greek word meaning panting. Essentially, asthma is an inability to breathe properly. When any person inhales, the air passes into the lungs through progressively smaller airways called bronchioles. The lungs contain millions of bronchioles, all leading to alveoli, microscopic scars where oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged. Asthma is a chronic condition in which these airways undergo changes when stimulated by allergens or other environmental triggers that cause patients to cough, wheeze and experience shortness of breath ( dyspnoea) . Asthma appears to have two primary stages, hyper reactivity ( also called responsivness) and the inflammatory response.
Hyper reactive response
In the hyper reactive response, smooth muscles in the airways narrow excessively in  response to inhaled allergens or other irritants. It should be noted that the airways in everyone's lungs respond by constricting when exposed to allergens or irriatants, but people without asthma are able to breathe in deeply to relax the airways and rid the lungs of the irritants. When asthmatics try to take those same deep breaths their airways do not relax and the patients pant for breath. Smooth muscles in the airways of people with asthma may have a defect, perhaps a deficiency in a critical chemical that prevents the muscles.
What causes asthma in children.
Asthma has dramatically risen worldwide over the past decades and experts are puzzled Over the cause of this phenomenon.The mechanism that cause asthma are complex and vary among  populationg groups and even individuals. Many asthma sufferers also have allergies, and researchers are investigating the events that occur in both these conditions. Not all people with allergies have asthma can be explained by allergic response. Other contributing causes are being investigated. Asthma is most likely a result of genetic susceptibility, which probably involves several genes and various environmental triggers, such as infections, dietary patterns, air pollution and allergens. Some experts observe that children are spending more time indoors watching TV playing video games or using the computer so they are overexposed to indoor allergens. The trend of making homes more energy efficient may result in dust mites being trapped inside them. Other facts for the increased survival of low birth weight babies ( who may be more susceptible to asthma). Asthma related disorders, including allergies, sinusitis and ear infections are also on the rise, indicating that airborne or environmental factors are at work, and many experts believe asthma is actually undiagnosed.
Immune factors
In people who have asthma caused by an allergic response, various airborne allergnes or other triggers set off a cascade of events in the immune system that lead to inflammation and hyper reactivity in the airways.
Genetic factors.
About one third or all the people with asthma share the problem with another member of their immediate family. Genetic factors appear to play a more important role than environmental factors or allergies in such families The condition may be likely to be passed to children from the mother than from the father.One study reported, however that the risk of having an asthmatic Child was six times higher if both parents had a history of asthma than if just one had the disease. Although specific genes for asthma have not yet been identified, research is progressing towards this goal .
Exercise induced asthma.
It occurs most often in children and young adults and during intense exercise in cold dry air. EIA is triggered only by exercise and is distinct from allergic asthma in that it does not produce a long term increase in airway activity ( as allergic asthma does) so people who only have EIA do not require long term maintenance tharpy. ( Some people however, have both types) . There is some evidence that patients with EIA may also experience an asthmatic response hours after physical activity, more research is needed to confirm this.
It should be noted that asthma is no reason to avoid exercise.long term exercise may help control asthma and reduce hospitalisations. Asthmatic children should be encouraged to swim and play sports suach as baseball that will present less difficulty for them.. summer sports causes less stress than winter ones.parents of children with exercise induced asthma should consult their physician for an exercise program suited to their specific conditions.
Infections.
Early respiratory infections. The organisms Chlamydia pneumoniae, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, adenovirus and the respiratory syncytial virus are major causes of respiratory infections and are becoming important suspects in many cases of severe adult, and childhood onset asthma. One 1999British study, for example, found a significant link between respiratory infections in mothers during pregnancy and in their children.in one study, patients whose asthma was initiated after infections had a more severe condition than those whose asthma was due to other causes, but asthma caused by infections did not last as long (5.6 years to 13.3 years) Rhinovirus or the common cold virus, can exacerbate asthma attacks and has been reported to be the most common infectious agent associated with 61 percent of asthma exacerbations in children and 44 percent in adults. Some research suggest that colds promote allergic inflammation and increase the intensity of airway responsiveness for weeks.
Homoeopathy is a system of medicine which has proved to be a tremendous success in improving the body's immunity level. In fact, it enhances the body's immunity in the most natrual way. Thus giving power to the body to fight the diseases.Homoeopathy treats asthma with a broader and long term curative view, during the course of H treatment if my patient needs bronchodilators, inhalers. I don't stop them because my first aim is to give relief to the Child during acute difficulty in breathing.
Each child or individual is born with a predisposition and interacts with the environment to evolve a disposition. The disposition constantly tries to strike a balance with the environment. Certain dispositions under environmental stresses have a tendency to develop asthma in childhood. When the balance between the child's health and environment is lost, the immunity goes down and diseases enter the body. Expression of diseases depends upon the sensitivity of the individual and the inherent predisposition like previous illnesses, allergies family history, temeperment, constitution, his ( child's) likes and dislikes activities educational or emotional stress.
Asthma with inflammatory reasons.
Asthma could be prevented or its intensity reduced by controlling the infection and the commonest infection is sore throat. Child complaints of sore throat with a sensation of something stuck in it.This sensation doesn't disappear in swallowing, in fact swallowing is very painful and pain extends to the ears. At times there is loss of voice with rattling in the chest and profuse yellowish greenish expectoration. Child feels very cold and wants to be covered. All the above complaints are worse in chilly dry weather or drinking chilled (iced) drinks.
Choking cough and sore throat gradually leads to difficulty in breathing. To prevent this (  asthma attack) start the Child on Hepar sulph 200 five pills four five times daily.Hepar sulph will immediately control the infection and thus prevent an asthma attack.
Merc sol Throat problem starts mainly due to dust to dust, environmental gases and change of weather. At first the cold settles in the eyes and nose then the throat feels sore with a dirty coated tounge and foul smelling mouth. Tiny ulcers form in the mouth.
Merc sol 200 five pills four times a day will improve the throat condition and thus prevent an asthma attack.
There are a number of Homoeopathic medicines for the above conditions depending upon the signs and symptoms of the child.
Genetic factors
We Homoeopaths pay great attention to family history. If there's a family history of asthma, skin disease( eczema) tuberculosis or cancer we take these factors in account while prescribing medicine. There are specific polycrest ( broad acting) medicines which try to minimise the bad effects of weak genes and improves the quality of those genes . A Homoeopath always gives the correctly indicated polycrest remedy ( once the acute attack is over) to improve the immunity of body and remove or minimise the effect of genes for asthma.
Reduced incidence of common childhood infectious disease.
Another theory for the dramatic increase in childhood asthma appears to be a contradiction. It blames the higher rate of asthma on childhood immunization that have nearly eliminated certain infectious diseases, such as measles and whooping cough. Experts postulate that in some children who are vaccinated against these diseases TH2 cells remain active and trigger the inflammatory events leading to asthma . Of some support for this theory are studies reporting that being a part of a large family reduces the risk of childhood asthma, children with many siblings are exposed to infections, which might increase immune factors that impede allergies.
We come across a number of children with chest allergy after they have been vaccinated. Specially whooping cough and measles vaccines have at times given long term side effects such as cold, cough, throat infections which may lead to asthma.
In Homoeopathy we have special vaccines to reduce side effects and toxicity for these vaccines.
Pertussin vaccine 200 five pills once a week for 6 weeks will reduce repeated cough attacks if developed after whooping cough vaccine.
Morbilinum 200 five pills once a week for 6 weeks should be given when the child develope chronic cold, cough and throat infections after measles vaccine.
Many more Homoeopathic vaccines are used to minimise side effects of vaccines.
Other contributing medical conditions
Hyperacidity or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) the cause of heartburn, is common in many asthmatic patients and is widespread among children with hard to control asthma. GERD may trigger asthma in many cases by spilling acid into the airways that trigger a hyper reactive response. GERD may be suspected in patients who do not respond to asthma treatments whose asthma attacks follow episodes of heartburn or whose attacks are worse after eating or exercise. In such cases treating heartburn may also resolve asthma.
Nux vom reduce the harmful effects and helps digestion. Nux vom 200 five pills four times a day.
Sinusitis
Almost half of children and adults with allergic asthma have sinus abnormalities.. The presence of sinusitis however does not appear to increase the severity of asthma.
Why children get asthma.
About half of all cases of asthma develop before the age of 10 , and another third before the age of 40. Among younger children, asthma develops twice as frequently in boys as in girls, but after puberty it may be more common in girls.
More indoor allergens a child is allergic to the higher risk for severe asthma. In infants and toddlers allergy to egg apperas to be a major predictor of asthma. Asthma and non seasonal or seasonal allergic rhinitis ( hay fever or rose fever caused by pollen allergies) often coexist together.Certain food items like milk egg and nuts plays very major allergic role. To reduce these allergic reactions certain Homoeopathic medicines like Aethusa, Calc carb, Sepia, Ipecac, Sulphur, Thuja,Can be used according to each individual's symptoms and signs.
Infants of low birth weight are higher risk for lung problem and asthma
Asthma is high in children under five who wheeze, have frequent chest colds or have a chronic cough
Damp houses
Who lives in damp house or damp climate can cause lots of difficulties to asthma patients medicines for damp climate few are as under.
Nat Sul This individual is very sensitive to rainy season near in general water in any form the patient develops cold, cougar time wheezing during change of weather from dry to wet, by eating certain plants or fruits growing near water.living in damp house basement.it starts with nasal cold thick yellow discharge from nose rattling mucus in chest along with wheezing and difficulty in breathing.
Calc carb Child is chuby perspiration around neck. Child wets pillow during sleep nose dry and stuffy hosrness of voice feels suffocated at night with tightness of chest.
Obesity
In both adults and children the incidence of obesity has been increasing in parallel with rise in asthma over recent years.
Mental health
Poor mental health
Day care centres.
Severity of acute attacks.
Asthma is third major cause of hospitalisations in children under 15 .
Although bronchial responsiveness improves in many children when they reach adolescence. the improvement is usually not complete and asthma may flare up again and remain in a problem throughout adulthood. Half of asthmatic children achieve remission after age 16 , in half of these however asthma flares up again in middle age. Children whose condition is serious enough to start with Homoeopathic medicine Thuja according to my humble experience I have found Thuja one of the most important remedy to be taken into consideration as most of my patients who came to me for first time have taken a lot of vaccinations and inoculations. Not only that but they have dreams of falling great heights missing of a step and falling down, dreams of dead people dreams of anxiety and misfortune. The children are worse after primary or secondary vaccination. This is a great remedy for hydrogenoid constitution patients feel worse during the monsoon. This is very helpful also who drink a lot of tea
The next remedy that I have found v useful and which follows Thuja is Sulphur. Here there's always a history of skin eruptions treated by various external applications.
Causticum
This remedy works exactly in the opposite direction from Thuja and Nat Sul the patient is v much better in monsoon and worse when climate is clear and dry.
Asthma with high blood pressure. The remedies are Baryta carb Baryta Mur and viscum alb.
Asthma with hay fever Allium Cepa, Ambrosia, Euphorisia, Sabadilla, Sambucus, Arilia racemosa.Lufa operculata have been introduced by dr Wilmar Schwabe of Germany. Provings were made by dr Raeside of UK dr R.P Patel of Kottayam has tried this remedy in 100 cases of Bronchial asthma allergic rhinitis and sinusitis of chronic type in both sexes and in children too according to him 6x Potency if this drug has been found more effictive. In case there is any aggravation of symptoms he states 0/3 and 0/6 potencies are found very helpful and this medicine can be continued even for months as long as there is no reaction.
Some remedies
Passiflora
Arum tri
Blata o
Pothos foet
ARS alb
Dulcamara
Nux vom
Ipecac
Carbo veg
Bromium
And more according to symptoms.