Tips for taking care of children with asthma during the cold Tet holiday

The former Director of the Central Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital advised parents to dress warmly, wear masks, keep their hands and feet clean, have good nutrition, and vaccinate children with asthma against influenza and pneumococcal disease.

According to the Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Climate Change, the 2017 Lunar New Year holiday coincides with the main winter month. The North will experience cold air waves below 18-20 degrees Celsius, dry weather, and severe cold in mountainous areas. The weather will be very cold at night and early morning, below 12 degrees Celsius; while during the day, temperatures can reach 22 degrees Celsius. The large temperature difference can easily cause children with asthma to relapse.

In the month before Tet, Ms. Ngoc Anh (Dong Da, Hanoi) had to take her 2-year-old child to a respiratory specialist for treatment three times because of asthma. "At first, he only had pneumonia, then it turned into asthma. For more than a month now, he has been in the hospital for a week, and after a few days of being home, he relapses," Ms. Mai said.

In a similar worrying situation, Ms. Mai (Thanh Xuan, Hanoi) shared that the constantly changing weather this time has caused her two children at home to cough and wheeze. The child has a history of bronchial asthma, so she is always on edge, afraid that her child will have a relapse. The older child only has a cough due to the weather, but the house is short of people, so she had to ask for leave to take care of the children.

Children with asthma should wear masks when going out on Tet holiday.

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Dinh - former Director of the Central Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital, weather changes have a great impact on human health, especially young children with low resistance. The transition from winter to spring, changes in environment, temperature, humidity... make children with bronchial asthma poorly adapted to the environment, often causing asthma attacks to recur.

In addition to weather factors, flu, cough, runny nose, colds, etc. can also cause children to have asthma attacks. Parents also need to pay attention to other factors that trigger asthma attacks such as the smell of varnish, new wood, cigarette smoke, furry animals, pollen, aspirin-containing drugs, stress, etc.

To best prevent asthma, it is necessary to avoid factors that trigger asthma attacks. Parents need to closely monitor the signs of asthma and should not ignore simple symptoms such as coughing and wheezing. In the first 2-3 years of life, if the child coughs, wheezes, and has difficulty breathing repeatedly when the weather changes, parents should take the child to a specialist to determine whether or not he or she has asthma.

Children with asthma must strictly and regularly follow the doctor's instructions and have regular check-ups. It is advisable to use licensed herbal medicines to treat children to limit side effects.

The end of the year and Tet holidays are the times when many families take their children on spring outings. Associate Professor Dinh recommends that if children are too sensitive, they should not go to crowded places. If children want to play, they must wear warm clothes, wear masks, wash their hands and feet, get flu and pneumococcal vaccines, and have good nutrition to increase resistance.

According to VNE