Question

Endre is a 12-year-old male who has asthma. He presents with his mother today at the health clinic and has concerns that his asthma is getting worse. He has been using an inhaler (bronchodilator) for about 6 years. He states that in the summer he does pretty good but when the winter comes, his breathing really gets worse. You ask him how much he has been using his inhaler. He says that he does not have or need an inhaler during school, but he reports using his inhaler two to four times between 5 and 10 p.m. and he often wakes up coughing around 4 a.m. He further describes that his chest is tight and he can hear wheezing. You further inquire how many times a week he is waking up coughing, he replies, “at least five.” He says that he lost his peak flow meter so he doesn’t know where he is at with that. Despite your encouragement to avoid contact with smoke, his mother still smokes in the home when it is cold outside. He shares a double mattress on the floor of his bedroom with a younger brother. The family does not have any pets.

How should his asthma be classified and treated given the information presented?

Answer 1

Asthma is a medical condition that causes breathing difficulty, as a result of airways narrowing and swelling.Asthma causes wheezing,shortness of breath and coughing.

Types of Asthma

-Mild intermittent asthma

-mild persistent asthma

-moderate persistent asthma

-severe persistent asthma

From the history of the above said boy,it is clear that he is suffering from Severe persistent asthma because he is having symptoms several times during the day. Also have the symptoms many nights in each week

He is also presenting the symptoms like

- Wheezing

-Coughing

Swollen air ways

-chest tightness

Treatment

Inhaled corticosteroids at a high does

Oral corticosteroids

Rescue inhaler

Etiology

Family history

Exposure to smoke

Allergy

Exposure to pollution or fumes