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Asthma can be either allergic or non-allergic. In children,
allergic asthma can signify the culmination of the Allergy
March, and evidence shows that asthma could have been mitigated
or perhaps avoided through targeted treatment of allergic disease.1,2 The
Early Treatment of the Atopic Child (ETAC) Study Group observed
that some children with atopic dermatitis and other sensitivities
being managed with cetirizine and allergen avoidance were half
as likely to develop asthma as those left untreated.2 In
addition, the Canadian Childhood Asthma Primary Prevention
Study3 demonstrated
a 56% reduction of asthma frequency by age 7 in high-risk
children through an intervention program for the first year
of their life that included avoidance of pets, secondhand smoke,
and dust mites, and encouragement of breast-feeding.
Asthma facts and figures
Asthma is very common
among children, and often appears with allergy.
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More than 20 million people have asthma4
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60% of those with asthma suffer specifically from
allergic asthma5
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9 million US children less than 18 years of age have
been diagnosed with asthma4
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90% of children with asthma also have established allergies6
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Approximately 40% of infants who have atopic dermatitis
may develop asthma by the age of 3 to 4 years2
Why you should know the true cause of asthma
triggers
Wheezing is a common precursor to asthma. Data have
shown that one third of infant wheezers will develop asthma.7 In
young patients, wheezing can have a number of possible causes
including infection, congenital anomalies, and allergy. Among
these, the latter is perhaps the most important risk factor
not only for wheezing, but also for diminished lung function
and, ultimately, asthma.8 To
help clinicians determine which wheezers might develop asthma,
the authors of the landmark Tucson Children’s Respiratory
Study devised the Asthma Predictive
Index.9 According
to the index, asthma is more probable in children who have
had recurrent episodes of wheezing during the previous year,
along with risk factors including atopic dermatitis or allergic
rhinitis.
Click
here to obtain expert asthma management guidelines from
the National Institutes of Health.
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