Asthma is often mistaken for bronchitis or pneumonia. Allergens, viruses, and exercise can cause asthma. In asthmatics, the nose isn t affected by the allergens, the lungs are. Children may not recognized when their breathing have become restricted. When wheezing sounds can be picked up without a stethoscope, the airway is 50 percent or more constricted, Bachman says.
Attacks usually begin with a cough or felling of tightness in the chest.
Treatment of asthma relies on four principles, according to Bachman. Education of parents, children, and teachers is first. Parents need to be aware of warning signs and the proper procedure to go through when child experiences an attack. Teachers also need to know this information. Adults around the child who know what they are doing and are calm about the situation, makes the child more at ease and less panicky.