Pediatric Pathophysiology in Asthma

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Definition of Pediatric Asthma

The chronic inflammation of the airways in the respiratory system of a human being is called asthma. In asthma, there is an increased responsiveness of the trachea-bronchial tree. The major manifestation of ashthma in terms of physiology includes airway narrowing. The clinical manifestation of this disorder includes dyspnea, cough, and episodes of wheezing.

The pattern of this disorder is episodic, chronic and life threatening. Difficulty in the breathing is the most significant symptom of pediatric asthmatic episodes. Various factors prove to be triggers in the narrowing of the respiratory tracts. These effectively impose physiological and structural changes in the airways. These changes can be because of changes in the air and environment children breathe in. The air is rich in allergens such as dust, dog, dander, etc. Other factors that can cause asthma include respiratory infections (Watlet et al., 2012). It is important to note that asthma is treatable and controllable. It is a process whose symptoms can be reversed by proper management and treatment. In the severe cases of this disorder, accumulation of damage can occur in the lungs, which may result in permanent narrowing of the airway track. Moreover, it can also result in bronchi constriction. Asthma is commonly found in children but it is also prevalent in adults and teenagers (NIH, 2012).

Episodic Onset of Pediatric Asthma

Episodic onset of pediatric asthma is marked by exacerbations of acute form that is mixed together with periods that are gone symptom free (Sharma & Bye, 2013).

Chronic Onset of Pediatric Asthma

Chronic onset of pediatric asthma is a pattern of asthma in which there is a regular or daily obstruction of airway with moderate, mild, and severe level of exacerbations. These exacerbations re of acute nature and are usually superimposed (Sharma & Bye, 2013).

Life threatening Onset of Pediatric Asthma

Life threatening onset of pediatric asthma occurs in two significant patterns. It can be either fast onset or slow onset and is often resulted in fatal outcomes within a short period of time. The time period of fatal outcome can be 2 hours.

Over the past few years, a significant increase has been observed in the incidence level of asthma in children. This elevating trend has been observed in association with an increase in the level of air pollution in the atmosphere of the planet. It is also important to note that the internal factors such as carpets can also play a significant role of triggering factor for the onset and prevalence of asthma. The association of asthma with allergies and eczema has been made in a number of researches. It is also important to realize that the exacerbation and acute allergic reactions are subject to hyper responsiveness of the immune system and also to the foreign allergic agents. Often times the onset of allergic reaction to food items such as nuts is confused with the onset of asthma. This is because the symptoms in both cases are similar such as tightening of chest and ...