| What is asthma? | 1470.00000000000 | What is asthma? | What is asthma? | W | English | Respiratory | Child (0-12 years);Teen (13-18 years) | Lungs | Respiratory system | Conditions and diseases | Adult (19+) | NA | | 2009-01-29T05:00:00Z | | | | | | 6.10000000000000 | 69.7000000000000 | 390.000000000000 | | Health (A-Z) - Conditions | Health A-Z | <p>Asthma is the most common chronic condition in children. Learn about what happens during an asthma attack and how bronchiole constriction affects breathing.</p> | <p>Asthma is a chronic lung condition. When properly managed, children with asthma can live perfectly normal lives.</p> | <h2>How asthma affects your child's lungs<br></h2><p>If your child has asthma, your child's airways (breathing passages) are extra sensitive or "twitchy". When your child is surrounded by certain conditions or triggers, your child's airways become narrower. This makes it hard to breathe.</p>
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<span class="asset-image-title">Narrowing of airways in asthma</span>
<img src="https://assets.aboutkidshealth.ca/akhassets/Asthma_MED_ILL_EN.jpg" alt="Normal airways, muscles and alveoli compared to the airways, muscles and alveoli during an asthma attack" />
<figcaption>During an asthma attack, the muscles around the airways get tight. The airways become narrow, making it hard to breathe.</figcaption>
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<p>One or more of the following things can happen to make your child's airways narrow.</p><ul><li>The lining of the airways gets thick and swells. This is called inflammation.</li><li>The muscles around the airways squeeze together and get tight. This is called bronchospasm or bronchoconstriction.</li><li>The airways make a lot of thick liquid called mucus.</li></ul><p>All of these reactions make your child's airways narrower. This makes it harder for air to pass in and out of the lungs.</p> | <h2> Key points </h2><ul><li>Asthma can be a lifelong condition, but good asthma control can allow your child to live a normal life.<br></li><li>Asthma symptoms are different in different children.</li><li>In certain conditions, a child with asthma's airways become narrower, making it harder to breathe.<br></li></ul> | | <figure class="asset-c-100">
<span class="asset-anim-title">What happens during an asthma attack?</span>
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<iframe src="https://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/Style%20Library/akh/animation/What%20happens%20during%20an%20asthma%20attach/WhatHappensDuringAsthmaAttack_CANVAS_EN%20.html"></iframe>
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<p class="sr-only">This click-through animation demonstrates what happens within the lungs during an asthma attack and how medications can help.</p>
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<p>Asthma is a condition that affects your child's lungs. The most common signs of problems with asthma include:</p><ul><li>feeling short of breath</li><li>tightness in the chest<br></li><li>coughing</li><li>wheezing</li></ul><p>These symptoms may be mild, moderate, or severe. Sometimes your child may feel well, and at other times your child may feel worse because of the asthma.</p><p>Asthma may affect your child's lungs for the rest of their life. But with good asthma control, your child can go on to live a perfectly normal life.</p><p>Asthma is the most common chronic (long-term) illness in children. About 10 per cent to 13 per cent of children have asthma.</p><h2>Asthma symptoms are not always the same</h2><p>Asthma symptoms are different in different children, even within the same family.</p><p>Your child may have different asthma symptoms triggered by different things.</p><p>Your child's symptoms may look or feel different from one episode to the next. They may change over time.</p> | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | https://assets.aboutkidshealth.ca/akhassets/Asthma_MED_ILL_EN.jpg | What is asthma? | | False | | | | | | |
