Patient Letter Asthma Children

                    

Dear Sir, Madam,

Your general practitioner has registered your child at Cello due to his or her asthma symptoms. We aim to inform you and your child (in an age-specific way) about asthma as well as possible. Our personal supervision will focus on teaching you to gain and maintain control of your child’s asthma in the best possible way.

In patients with asthma the airways show hypersensitivity to specific allergens such as house dust mite, animals, trees, pollen, grass or fungus. The airway muscles react by contracting (cramps) and the mucous glands become irritated and inflamed (swelling). The result is narrowing of the air passages. Your child may suffer from symptoms such as wheezing, mucous in the airways, coughing at night or shortness of breath. These are all symptoms that can be related to asthma.

Personalized prescription and maintenance of medication are necessary to reduce asthmatic symptoms. The objective is to get your child free from symptoms as much as possible, e.g. so that he or she can practice sports again without problems. The success of the treatment depends for an important part on you, as parent or caretaker. A child may not always be motivated to take medication regularly, especially if there are no symptoms (temporarily). The medication is usually administered through inhalation. This requires some skill, but you and your child (in an age-specific way) will receive some good tips and tricks for this.

There are several inhaler drugs: airway expanders and inflammation reducers. Airway expanders literally give the air passages more air. They work fast. Inflammation reducers slow down the inflammatory process in the airways. This results in reduced swelling and mucous production in the airways. Often both kinds of medication are necessary.

The supervision at Cello consists of regular check-ups. You will be explained how the medication should be used and when your child needs it. The effect of the medication will be evaluated during check-ups and adjusted if necessary. In the beginning the check-ups will take place often, e.g. every 2-4 weeks, until the desired effect is reached. After this, the check-ups can become less frequent. A lung function test can be done, depending on the age of your child. With an indication, more tests can be conducted, such as an allergy test. Age plays a role in this.
You can contact the practice nurses at Cello to make an introduction appointment for your child (of course, you can accompany your child).

If you have any questions after reading this letter, please indicate this during the next contact. We will be pleased to help you further. As a preparation for the first and subsequent appointments, you can find a lot of information on asthma on our website: www.leidenhuisarts.nl

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