Allergy and asthma are some of the most prevalent disorders in children in the United States. In fact, asthma is the most common chronic disease of childhood, and it affects over 7.1 million children in the United States. Due to the rising rates of this illness in children, pediatricians are spending more time and energy treating the symptoms of asthma or making the initial diagnosis. All pediatrics jobs can thus play an important role in the detection and healthy treatment of asthma, sometimes with the assistance of an allergy-immunology expert.

Some of the essential features of asthma include episodic symptoms of airflow obstruction. These can include wheezing, coughing, and chest tightness. Children who suffer from asthma are more likely to miss school, and their parents are more likely to miss work in order to care for them. This in turn leads to the large economic costs that are estimated to arise from the asthma epidemic.

Most frequently, children with asthma develop their symptoms before the age of 5 years. This is true in about 80% of cases. Normally, family disposition to allergy (known as atophy) is a contributing factor, and children that have sensitivities to allergens like pet dander, cockroach, dust mites, and Alternaria (a soil mold) are at increased risked for asthma. Sometimes, even offending foods and sensitivities to them can provoke asthmatic reactions in children.

Wheezing and viral infections that start early in life and which are caused by viruses such as parainfluenza, respiratory syncytial virus, and metapneumovirus can sometimes persist into later childhood. In about 40% of cases, this leads to asthma. Likewise, bronchiolitis in infancy has been linked to asthma and allergy later in childhood. Risk factors in the environment can also lead to problems – some risk factors include tobacco smoke exposure from the mother, cold air, pollutants, strong chemical odors, or even rapid changes in barometric pressure.

A physician will normally diagnose asthma based on clinical judgment of symptoms – for instance if the child is able to participate only in a limited number of activities or has a reduced quality of life due to symptoms. There are clinical guidelines for asthma control – such as those from the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP), the Asthma Control Test (ACT), the Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ), and the Asthma Therapy Assessment Questionnaire (ATAQ). All of these tests and questionnaires are designed to assess multiple domains such as frequency of daytime and nocturnal symptoms, functional status, missed school or work, etc. etc.

Parents may wonder how they can recognize the most common symptoms of asthma. They include wheezing (the most commonly known symptom), recurrent cough, shortness of breath, chest congestion, exercise tolerance, dyspnea, and recurrent bronchitis or pneumonia. Cyanosis (turning blue) of the lips and the nail beds can also occur when asthma interferes with proper oxygen transfer between the lungs and the blood. As always, children with unexplained breathing problems or upper respiratory problems should be evaluated by a qualified pediatrician. If a clear diagnosis is not available, the patient may be referred to a specialist.

To learn more about pediatrics jobs, visit PhysEmp.com. You can search and apply for free to over 25,000 positions in more than 200 specialties, including emergency medicine jobs, internal medicine jobs, hospitalist jobs.

To learn more about pediatrics jobs, visit http://PhysEmp.com. You can search and apply for free to over 25,000 positions on more than 200 specialties, including internal medicine jobs, emergency medicine jobs, hospitalist jobs, and many more.

Author Bio: To learn more about pediatrics jobs, visit PhysEmp.com. You can search and apply for free to over 25,000 positions in more than 200 specialties, including emergency medicine jobs, internal medicine jobs, hospitalist jobs.

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