ASTHMA IN CHILDREN

Asthma in Children

Asthma in Children

Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the increase in the rate of asthma in children. After presenting the concept of asthma and discussing the current trends, the paper would specifically list down and elaborate the effects of social, physical, emotional, cognitive, language, and adaptive development of children suffering from asthma. Asthma, being a chronic disease, not only affects the child suffering from it in various dimensions, but also poses significant impacts on the family and guardians of the child. The paper would address this point in detail, and highlighting the way families and guardians cope with these challenges. The last section of the paper presents a discussion on the way policies and provisions in the UK contribute to the healthcare and well being of the children suffering from asthma as well as their family (Taras & Potts-Datema, 2005, pp. 296-306).

Child Asthma

Asthma is known to be an unceasing inflammatory lung disease, which is classified by the persistent occurrence of chest tightness, coughing, wheezing, and breathlessness. Such occurrences are referred to as attacks or exacerbations. The intensity of attacks may vary from life threatening to mild. The severity as well as the frequency of asthma symptoms may be cut down by means of employing medications as well as by cutting down the exposure to the environmental causes of the asthma exacerbations. An outbreak of asthma, for the last fifteen years, has taken place in the United Kingdom (Clark. 2010, pp. 931-937).

This outbreak, by every evident indication, is persistent. Despite the fact that asthma has turned to be a crucial public health issue, which impacts the UK citizens of every age group, ethnic group, or race; children have been specifically impacted severely. The data derived from the national survey shows that the number of children suffering from asthma all through the United Kingdom has surpassed the doubled number during the last fifteen years. Almost two million children amongst the UK citizens had asthma in the year 2010. In the year 2012, the number of children that are affected had increased to almost five million. On the basis of these trends and statistics, it is approximated that the number of affected children in the year 2015, would surpass six million all through the United Kingdom (Janette, 2013, pp. 1-362).

In accordance with Bender, the rates of prevalence of asthma are highest amongst boys, and are rising in girls as well as boys. In children below eighteen years, the prevalence rate of asthma is almost seven percent. The most rapid increase has happened in children below five years of age, having rates rising more than a hundred and sixty percent during the last fifteen years (Dong et. al, 2011, p. n.d.). The number of deaths caused to children due to asthma also rose. In the year 2008, eighty four deaths in children below eighteen years of age were recorded; the number of deaths has risen to two hundred and eighty in the year 2012, which is equivalent to ...