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Breathing Easier
Advances in Childhood Asthma

by Steven D. Bevier

Living with asthma can be a miserable experience. Breathing is an obvious difficulty, but asthma can also lead to emphysema, cardiovascular problems, pneumonia, and in the most severe cases, even death. That’s why MSU has made it an important part of its health plan, and thanks to improved medications and a better understanding of the disease itself, the lives of asthma patients are improving.

Asthma is one of the leading health concerns for young people, especially for those that live in inner cities. While many adults suffer from asthma, it often begins to develop in childhood, and complications are more noticeable and more severe at a younger age.

Dr. Greenberg checks the breathing of a young asthma patient.

Joel Greenberg, D.O., Class of 1989, is chairperson of MSUCOM’s pediatrics department. He explains that it is difficult to know the true rate at which asthma occurs. Problems associated with asthma can wax and wane and it can often be misdiagnosed as bronchitis or some other respiratory problem. He believes that the number of children with asthma is rising due to increased air pollution and – ironically – an emphasis on cleanliness that prevents children from building a resistance to dust and microbes.

Dr. Greenberg is one of two MSUCOM pediatricians who have received training to perform pulmonary function tests, a key tool for asthma diagnosis. (Mari Douma, D.O., Class of 1993, is the other.) Normally, a patient would have to wait weeks or even months to see a specialist, but now the test can be performed in the office at one of MSU’s pediatric clinics. This has been a tremendous benefit, especially to acute asthma patients who need pulmonary function tests on a regular basis.

In the past, doctors believed that asthma was caused by constriction of the airways, but they have since learned that is not entirely true. Asthma itself is an inflammation of tissue surrounding the airways. When untreated that inflammation irritates the muscles of the airways, causing them to contract, which leads to the wheezing and shortness of breath familiar to asthma sufferers. Because physicians now understand the true cause of the disease, “Our medications are much more effective now,” says Dr. Greenberg. “The side effects have decreased and mortality rates have dropped.”

Asthma attacks can be set off by a number of factors, including viral infections, changes in temperature, and allergies. An MSUCOM study has also shown that tobacco use by parents can aggravate a child’s asthma.

Dr. Greenberg suggests that parents learn to recognize some of the early warning signs of asthma. “Coughing, not wheezing, is actually one of the first indicators,” he explains. “If you notice your child coughing a lot while playing or sleeping, it may be asthma, not bronchitis as it is sometimes thought.” If you think your child may have asthma, have him or her tested. A visit to the doctor now can make a big difference in that child’s life.