Protecting Kids from Asthma

Asthma & kids

by Liz Casler

Between 1980 and 1996, the percentage of youth with asthma in America increased from 3.6% of the population to 6.2%, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The good news is that there has been no observable increase in the number of kids with asthma since 2001. But now that the number of people with asthma is leveling off, what can we do to further reduce those numbers, and what are the risk factors that parents still need to watch out for?

There's no doubt that asthma is still a serious problem in the U.S. The CDC lists some of asthma's impacts:

• Asthma accounts for 14 million missed days of school annually.
• Asthma is the third-ranking cause of hospitalization among those younger than 15 years of age.
• The number of children dying from asthma increased almost threefold from 1979 to 1996, from 93 to 266.
• The estimated cost of treating asthma in those younger than 18 years of age is $3.2 billion per year.

Researchers haven't yet determined any definitive causes of asthma in children, but they have found certain risk factors associated with the disease. While some of these factors -- for example, a family history of asthma, low birth weight, and race -- are unavoidable, others are more controllable. Also, if your child is diagnosed with asthma, there are specific steps you can take to prevent serious asthma attacks.