It can be hard to watch your child's body be taken over by an asthma attack at random times. Your child's asthma attacks do not have to remain random. By figuring out and identifying your child's warning signs that they are going to have an asthma attack, you can start to create an asthma prevention plan for your child that will help your child regain control over their life. Here are the three steps that you need to follow to figure out your child's warning signs.
#1 Work Together With Your Child's Doctor
Identifying your child's asthma attack warning signs should be a joint effort between your child doctor and yourself. Make sure that you inform your child's doctor about your plan to identify your child's warning signs that an attack is about to take place. Your doctor may be able to provide you with some additional guidance regarding your plan and things that they have noticed about your child's unique asthma case.
#2 Create A Two-Tier Warning Sign Checklist
Next, sit down with your child's doctor and work to create a two-tier warning sign checklist that you can use to figure out your child's warning signs. The first tier of this checklist should include a list of symptoms that you notice your child exhibit when they experience an asthma attack. Draw on both your memory and your doctor's memory to create this list, as well as common asthma attack symptoms. This list should include items such as:
Each time your child has an asthma attack, place a check-mark next to each sign that you see your child exhibit and add to the list if new symptoms present during your child's attacks.
Next, you need to create the second tier of your warning sign checklist. This checklist covers how your child felt or acted right before an asthma attack occurred. This list should include things more like:
You should go over this list after your child has an attack and try to remember what symptoms that they experienced beforehand; this list is comprised of the advanced warning signs that an attack is coming.
#3 Put The Plan Into Action
Once you have the plan written out, you need to put it into action. Carry these checklists with you and keep them handy around your home. Every time your child has an attack, take a few minutes when your child is feeling better to go over what they experienced during the attack and what warning signs they exhibited before the attack. Be sure to date each checklist and add any additional observations that you have. Update the checklist with additional warning signs or symptoms that you notice.
When you have collected an ample sample of checklists, sit down with your doctor to review them. Hopefully, a pattern will emerge that shows what warning signs your child exhibits and even what warning signs are associated with different asthma attack symptoms. This date will help you and your child's doctor to move forward and create a more detailed and focused prevention plan for asthma attacks for your child.
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