Sunday, January 16, 2011

OUTGROWING ASTHMA

As quick as kids grow, it seems they outgrow their clothes in a matter of weeks. But did you know they can also outgrow diseases like asthma? As doctors have a pretty good idea of which kids will outgrow asthma and which ones will have to deal with it for life.

Joseph Oliver looks like a typical 13-year-old. He plays basketball in the evenings and plays the clarinet in his school band. But what's different is he has asthma.

Joseph Oliver, Asthma sufferer:
"I'm limited to everything I can do. But I try as much as I can."

Asthma affects the lungs. Airways tighten and fill with mucus -- making it difficult to breathe. It's the most common childhood chronic disease.

David Schaeffer, M.D.,:
"It affects probably some five million children and the prevalence of it has been increasing in the past ten years."

A new study from the University of Arizona says not all children will have to live with asthma for the rest of their lives.

David Schaeffer, M.D.:
"About fifty percent of children outgrow their asthma."

A child is more likely to have asthma for a lifetime if they have a persistent wheezing in their first two years of life, they have bad excema in their first two years of life, or if they still have abnormal lung function at age ten. For Joseph, the news isn't good.

David Schaeffer, M.D.:
"He's thirteen and he still has active asthma symptoms and so he probably is not among the fifty percent who will outgrow it during his teenage years."

Joseph Oliver:
"They said once that it probably would come back but you can't let it hold you down."

The good news is in the last two years, Joseph's asthma has improved. Doctors hope that by determining which children will have asthma for life, it will help to determine the best form of treatment. Dr. Schaeffer says asthma has always been an underdiagnosed disease. If your child coughs every day or has a wheeze along with the cough, he says it's a good idea to have your doctor check it out.

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