Chennai: Asthma is often misdiagnosed in children and they undergo wrong treatment. It is either diagnosed as primary complex or mild infection of tuberculosis, or the shadows on chest X-ray are mistaken for pneumonia, said Dr R. Sridharan, consultant pediatrician, Asthma and Allergy Resource Centre, on the eve of World Asthma Day. The first Tuesday of May is observed as World Asthma Day.
Respiratory physicians say that parents should understand and accept that their children are suffering from asthma and use the peak flow meter to monitor the children’s condition.
Of every 12 asthmatics in the world, one is an Indian and around 10-15 per cent children have some kind of asthma symptoms in India. Dr Sridharan said that only less than five per cent of the children are correctly diagnosed and only one per cent gets the correct treatment.
“When pediatric asthma is misdiagnosed as primary complex, the children end up taking anti tuberculosis drugs for six months,” he said, adding that asthma episodes are also mistaken for pneumonia.
Parents have some kind of mental block when it comes to inhalers. Also, pulmonary function test for children below six years is a challenge, said medical experts.
Dr A. Somasundaram, consultant pediatrician and developmental neurologist, and secretary of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics, Chennai, said that asthma triggers could be anything, even the smell of perfume.
It differs from child to child. “Such triggers should be avoided. In asthma, the lining of the airways swell, the muscles around the airways tightens and mucous plugs the tiny airway of the lungs, making breathing difficult. Symptoms are worse at night and in the early hours of the morning,” he said.
Respiratory physicians also blame the environment pollution and lament the fact that children are being exposed to it. Dr R. P. Ilango, Respiratory Physician, Apollo BreatheEazy Clinic, said that parents first have to understand and monitor the children’s condition.
“Though there is no scientific evidence, parents’ stress also affects these kids,” he said.
