Asthma
and Partners In Pediatrics Important Role
Asthma
is the most common chronic pediatric condition affecting
one out of every ten to twenty children, depending on
the population. Not unlike heart disease in adults,
asthma has a heavy health impact and considerable medical
costs. It also accounts for many ER and urgent care
visits along with missed days of school and work in
families afflicted with it.
The
providers at Partners In Pediatrics have always used
the most current medical recommendations to help manage
those children with asthma. Along with these up-to-date
medical decisions, we have an arsenal of patient information
to help keep your child’s asthma under control.
As an example, we regularly create “asthma action
plans” so you can keep up with which medicine
to give your child when they are struggling with their
symptoms. When indicated, we collaborate with pediatric
asthma sub-specialists to provide the best asthma care
for our patients.
In
addition, Partners In Pediatrics is excited to announce
their involvement, in conjunction with the Children’s
Hospital and Colorado Pediatric Partners (an organization
of premier pediatric practices here in Denver), in creating
a computerized registry of asthmatic patients. The information
collected in our office will be used to provide our
patients with more effective asthma care. Specific patient
information is not shared with insurance companies.
The invaluable input provided will be collected and
compared to establish nationally recognized benchmarks
for the treatment of asthma. If your child has suffered
from a chronic cough or multiple bouts of “wheezing”
let us know the next time you are in the office as your
child might have more than just recurrent “colds.”
Do not be surprised if you are invited to join the asthma
registry and certainly let us know if you would like
to participate next time you are in the office!
HAY
FEVER/PERENNIAL ALLERGIES/ENVIRONMENTAL RHINITIS
 Description/Physiology
Hay fever is a very common problem in children and adults.
Triggers are
often easy to treat when they can be identified. However,
there may be dozens
of triggers, which are called allergens. Allergens are
small molecules our body
recognizes as foreign, and its response to them is called
the allergic response.
Many of the allergens are seasonal (for example, weeds,
pollens, grasses, etc.).
Hay fever is the name of allergic symptoms from these
seasonal allergens. A
perennial allergy is the name for allergies caused by
non-seasonal allergens (for
example, dog and cat dander). Environmental rhinitis
is a condition in which
similar symptoms are triggered by non-allergens, such
as pollutants and
irritants in the air (for example, cigarette smoke,
air pollution, etc.).
Hay fever, perennial allergies, and environmental
rhinitis are triggered when
an allergen or irritant enters the respiratory tract
through the mouth, nose, or
eyes. Once settled there, it irritates the mucous membranes
that line these
areas, creates inflammation, and stimulates the release
of histamine. This
inflammation and histamine release cause swelling, redness,mucous
production, itching, sneezing, and watery eyes.
 Causes/Epidemiology
There are dozens of agents that can trigger these reactions.
For hay fever, the
most common are tree, grass, and weed pollen. For perennial
allergies,
common triggering events would include animal dander,
dust, mold, feathers,
etc. For environmental rhinitis, triggers could include
dry air, cigarette smoke,
chemical fumes, and smoke. Also, food allergies may
trigger hay fever-like
symptoms.
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