Living with a Pediatric Respiratory (Pulmonary) Condition

children running Pediatric respiratory (pulmonary) conditions are common and vary in type and severity. Some conditions are mild and last for a short period while others are more serious and can last a lifetime. Croup, asthma, bronchitis and cystic fibrosis (CF) are examples of respiratory conditions.

Treatment for many respiratory conditions has improved significantly in recent years. Regardless of what type of respiratory condition your child has, there are steps that can be taken to manage it. After some testing, your child’s doctor may recommend medication, home therapy or therapy at a doctor’s office or hospital, where their breathing and oxygen levels can be closely monitored.

Make sure your child eats a healthy diet and gets adequate sleep. Speak with your doctor about what type of activity your child can participate in and make sure all medications are taken exactly as prescribed. Monitor your child closely and speak with your doctor if their symptoms change or worsen. Be aware of serious symptoms, such as a very high fever or extremely labored breathing. If serious symptoms occur, take your child to the hospital.

Severe Asthma

Transcript

My name is Dominique Hill and asthma runs through my family - my sister has it, my mother has it, I lost a best friend to it, and now my daughter has it. I'm scared I might lose her one day.

I'm Jake Cohn and I've had severe asthma since birth. My lungs are extremely scarred from asthma and all the steroids. My whole childhood just severe coughing spasms and asthma attacks have damaged my lungs.

Jake's been a big challenge - for Jake, we've had to use everything that we've learned from clinical trials to bring innovative new treatments, medications, procedures, lifestyle changes. What is the next thing we're gonna offer him?

I am scared, you know, I've been scared since she was 3 months. I could tell she was having trouble breathing and she started turning pink and I got somebody to bring me to National Jewish and luckily we made it here just in time. It's just a really scary feeling with a 15-month-old. I'm scared to wake up to my child not waking up in the morning. She's only a baby.

Kailia's really young to have such a severe case of asthma; she's already been in and out of the hospital. She's had several life-threatening episodes. There could be speed bumps along the way and what I'm really concerned about is the next speed bump could cost her her life. When are we gonna get to a cure for asthma and people like Jake and Kailia have more options?

I'm hoping for Kailia that she's able to grow up and be able to play and run like the other kids.

It changed my life. It is physically demanding; I get out of breath every time I ski.

For somebody like Jake, it's just absolutely amazing to me what he's been able to accomplish. We need more research, we need more investigation, we need to study people like Kailia and Jake and National Jewish is the perfect place to do that.

Never say you can't do something because of your asthma and never let it get in the way of your passion.

At National Jewish Health for Kids, you’ll find:

A wide variety of pediatric pulmonology programs to meet your child’s needs
The latest in clinical trials
A focused and integrated approach
State-of-the-art testing
A therapy plan designed especially for your child.

Our goal for you and your child is to determine your child’s diagnosis and develop a plan of care that will allow your child to be as symptom-free as possible.

Learn about the Pediatric Severe Asthma Clinic.