Toddlers Asthma: Make Your Home a Haven For Your Child

Toddlers asthma is a chronic inflammatory health condition of the bronchial airways in children below the age of three. This inflammation can cause the normal function of a small child's airways to become swollen and can over produce mucus in the lung tissues. As a result, an asthma sufferer can experience airway obstruction, chest tightness, coughing and wheezing. If the symptoms become severe this can also cause acute shortness of breath and low blood oxygen. Asthma in toddlers is a major concern for many parents around the globe.

There are three primary causes of childhood asthma:

• Allergic reactions
• Non-allergic reactions from airborne irritants
• Viral respiratory conditions

It is believed that over 50 percent of asthma symptoms in toddlers and small children are due to allergies. In fact, toddler allergies are closely related to asthma. The most common allergic pollutant in the home is the dust mite and the protein produced by their feces.

Childhood Asthma Statistics

Asthma is considered to be the leading cause of chronic illnesses of children within the United States. In 2007, 7.2 million children under age 18 (over 1.5 million under age 5) are believed to have serious asthma symptoms. As many as 2 million children are considered to be at risk from undiagnosed asthma.

What is Hidden Asthma?

Hidden asthma is a common enigma for many health care providers and is a common concern for parents of a child believed to have asthma. Many times the parents of a toddler or young child with hidden asthma symptoms are told to limit their child’s activity levels until the exact diagnosis can be made.

Make Your Home a Haven with HEPA

There are thousands of airborne pollutants which can be found in the home such as pollen, mold spores, dust mites and household dust. However, it is the small (sub-micron) particles which cause the most asthma symptoms while at home. These small particles are between 5 to 50 microns in size and particles fewer than 10 microns account for over 97% of all particles within a typical home by count. A small child or toddler may breathe in as much as 6,500 quarts of air per day. This is why it is important to control these small particles in the home environment and especially in the bedroom where the child sleeps. The regular use of a HEPA vacuum and a portable HEPA air purifier in the room where the toddler or small child spends the greatest amount of their time will greatly reduce these asthma causing pollutants. I have had many clients in the past 26 years who have had great results in reducing their child’s asthma symptoms with regular use of HEPA cleaning devices. Utilizing HEPA technology in the proper manner along with the appropriate asthma medication can minimize a child's symptoms while at home.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/diseases-and-conditions- articles/toddlers-asthma-make-your-home-a-haven-for-your- child-1686103.html

Read more about Children and Asthma.

Stan K. Hall is a recognized specialist in Indoor Air Pollution as well as Health & Safety in the home. He has performed over 400 indoor environmental evaluations over the past 26 years and has helped hundreds of homeowners make their home a haven. He is widely known as the originator of T.E.A.M., the scientifically proven approach to controlling and resolving indoor air pollution.