In some preschoolers, asthma symptoms gradually wane. Other kids end up with asthma throughout childhood. It’s impossible to know which path your child might take. But according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, asthma that lingers throughout childhood often is associated with allergy, a family history of allergy or asthma, and exposure to passive smoke (usually cigarette) and asthma-causing allergens.

For school-age kids, asthma brings a special challenge. These children are learning how to get along with peers and work well in social settings, like school or extracurricular activities. It’s important to nurture a child’s self-esteem and control asthma at the same time. The solution is to take a team approach: together, you and your child will work with health care providers, teachers, school nurses, and coaches, as the case may be. Your job is to help your child understand how to control asthma and then provide the foundation with which to do it.

For these children, as for everyone with asthma, good health comes down to three things: avoiding asthma triggers, taking medication, and monitoring breathing. Depending on what triggers your child’s asthma, you can take certain steps to help treat it. For example, don’t smoke around your child. If you smoke, go outside to do it .You also may need to remove a pet or fluffy stuffed toys from your home, encase your child’s bed mattress in plastic, or take other precautions.

Most children with asthma have what’s called “allergic asthma,” which is triggered by specific allergens. In the past, doctors frequently suggested immunotherapy, or allergy shots, for these children. Immunotherapy is not as commonly used today. New research suggests that asthma drugs usually can do the job by themselves.

When it comes to medication, the trend is to treat a child’s asthma aggressively, get it under control, and then slowly taper off medication to the lowest amount possible. The most common long-term controller medication for kids is cromolyn sodium (brand name: Intal?). The Food and Drug Administration also recently approved nedocromil sodium (Tilade?) for children 6 to 11 years of age. A variety of quick-reliever medications may be used.

Kids in this age group usually can use inhalers, but it’s very important to teach them the right technique. Otherwise, they won’t get the full benefit of their medication. It’s also important to explain why taking asthma medicine on time is critical, even if your child feels fine. Several studies have shown that, if left to themselves, many kids forget to take the right amount of medication. We need to remind children to take their medicine in a positive way and praise them when they remember to do it on their own.

The last feature of asthma treatment, monitoring, is especially important in this age group. Regular check-ups at the doctor will help your child review inhaler technique, rethink asthma medication plans, and talk about any problems or questions. Encourage your child to talk with your doctor frankly. A few days before your visit, ask your child how he or she feels about the asthma management plan. Does the medication seem to work? Is your child still struggling with hard breathing or coughing? Do you have any questions for the doctor yourself? Maybe your child is considering going to camp, for example, or is worried that learning how to swim might be difficult because of asthma. Now is the time to ask.

At School

At home, your child probably can deal with asthma fairly easily. You two can talk about it openly, for example, or get medication as soon as it’s needed. But life at school can be different. There are a lot of kids around, and a lot of things to do. Controlling asthma can get lost in the shuffle. What’s more, every child wants to “fit in,” and yours may feel embarrassed pulling out an inhaler or wheezing during gym class. That’s why it’s so important for you to help. Your child doesn’t need to miss out on activities or feel uncomfortable because of asthma.

The best approach is to start dealing with your child’s asthma before the school year begins¡ªor right away, if school’s already in session. Ask your doctor for books or articles explaining how asthma affects a school-aged child. Once you have this information, share it with your child’s teacher and a school nurse. You might even put in a call to the school principal. These people need to know how asthma affects your child. For example, you’ll want to consider things like:

- Triggers

Classrooms sometimes contain asthma-causing allergens, like dusty carpeting or mold. If your child’s asthma seems to get worse at school, these triggers could be to blame. Also, your child may need to be particularly careful during art or science projects that involve paints and other chemicals¡ªstrong odors can trigger asthma attacks in some people. The same thing goes for certain foods.

- Medication

During an asthma attack, inhaling medication quickly is the fastest, safest route to relief. But schools have varying policies regarding medicine. Some schools don’t let a child carry any drugs, even an asthma inhaler. When this is true, it’s important that the school clinic keeps an inhaler with asthma medication for your child.

Also, some kids will need to take medicine on a regular schedule. Make sure both your child and school personnel know when regular trips to the nurse’s clinic are needed. It’s essential that teachers and nurses help your child take medication without making a “big deal” out of it. That will help your child feel more confident.

Some medicine may cause side effects, too. According to the American Academy of Allergy and Immunology, asthma medication might sometimes cause a child to have a headache, stomachache, shakiness (which might cause sloppy handwriting), sleepiness, or a hard time concentrating. If your child’s ears get stuffy with nasal allergies, he or she might not hear as well.

Similarly, asthma can cause a cough or runny nose. These symptoms are not contagious, and a child does not need to be sent home. If any of the above things are true with your child, tell the teacher.

- Exercise

One of the most common asthma triggers is exercise, especially intense exercise, like running, soccer, or basketball, which lead to heavy breathing. For most kids with asthma, there’s no reason to sit on the sidelines. Exercise is important to everyone’s health. So if your child has exercise-induced asthma, tell the coaches or physical education instructors. A teacher/coach needs to know what medication your child needs, how much medicine should be taken, when that medication should be taken, what to do if the medicine doesn’t seem to help, and what to do during an emergency.

Usually, inhaling a puff or two of certain medications before exercise will allow your child to join in sports and games without problems. Sometimes, however, your child may need to adjust his or her activity. “Asthma and Physical Activity in the School,” a report published by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, offers these tips for helping your child enjoy exercise to the fullest. Share the advice with teachers coaches:

- Include warm-up and cool-down times. Take this time to stretch and use medication as needed.

- Before beginning a new type of exercise, check a child’s written asthma management plan, which should explain any limits on that child’s activity.

- Also before beginning, check the environment for any known asthma triggers, for example, freshly cut grass or a newly-painted gym.

- Be alert to the symptoms (wheezing, labored breathing, coughing) of an oncoming asthma attack. If a child does have an attack, take care. Use medication as needed and let the child rest for a reasonable amount of time (possibly the remainder of the class or activity).

- Modify exercise according a child’s ability. For example, rather than run a mile, an asthmatic child might walk part, or all, of the way.

If a child can’t fully participate, be sure to involve him or her. Maybe a child with asthma can keep score, take care of equipment, or play a position that doesn’t require a lot of running, like goalie. Suiting up and heading out on to the field with the other kids is important to every child’s sense of self-esteem.

- Convenience

Perhaps the biggest factor driving a student’s success with asthma treatment is convenience. A child should be able to attend school even with mild symptoms. He or she also needs to get medication easily when needed. You, as a parent, need to be easy to reach if an asthma attack does occur. All these things boil down to preparation. Communicate with your child’s school. If you provide written instructions for asthma care and easy access to medication, you’re halfway there. Last, be sensitive to your child’s self-esteem. The school-age years are full of peer pressure. Don’t add asthma to it.

Children, especially babies, are more delicate and have much weaker natural immunity than adults. Although in the womb, they are exposed to a certain degree of natural immunogens through their mother’s blood, they are largely protected by the mother’s placenta. Once out in the real world, the exposure to toxins and allergens as well as potential illnesses increases by a huge amount.

Breastfeeding also provides a large amount of protection to the young developing immune system. Mother’s breast milk contains many naturally occurring antigens which can be absorbed into the baby’s system and give the baby added protection as it grows and develops. Because the mother’s immune system has already dealt with these harmful substances, when they are passed through to the baby they are in the harmless, neutralized form and all the baby needs to do is to produce its own little baby antibodies against them. It is a sort of natural immunization.

But, we all know that babies crawl and pick up everything in site and put absolutely everything into their mouths. This is actually good for them as it is allowing for more exposure to the germs and this gives a baby’s immune system more chance to grow and become stronger. Later in life, they will benefit from this constant oral exploration.

Despite all these protection, babies are still incredibly delicate and must be protected from the usual types of illness which they can encounter through physical contact with others, through contact with contaminated clothing, or by being exposed to air-borne germs and viruses.

The most common types of baby illness are as follows:

1. Coughs and Colds: Some babies have a continually runny nose, so it might be difficult to detect when they have developed a cold. Colds can be caught by babies quite easily if other siblings or parents have them already. If a baby does catch a cold it can be distressing for them since they will not feel comfortable and may cry. They may also have a cough. There is very little to do in this case except keep wiping their nose and keep an eye on them. If the runny nose starts to become yellowish, or green, then it may be time to consult your pediatrician, or if the cough starts to become a hacking, wheezing cough.

2. Influenza, or simply ‘the flu’ is similar to a cold, except that it will be accompanied by a fever. Even through quite a high temperature, babies and toddlers do play and wander around quite happily unless the other symptoms are especially bad. It is extremely important to keep an eye on the temperature and keep it under control by giving baby medicines containing paracetamol. If the fever persists for more than a few days then it is advisable to seek medical advice.

3. Chicken Pox – chicken pox is highly contagious. It is infectious from two days before the first symptoms appear and for up to five days afterwards. It is passed on through saliva and sneezes. Chicken pox is better to be caught when the child is younger because it can be very mild. In adults it can be incredibly virulent and the symptoms of a very itchy red rash can be very troublesome. The good news is, if you have had chicken pox, it is very rare that you catch it again.