Heat, pollen, pollution can trigger asthma in kids

We spend a lot of time outside in the summer, at the pool, your kids go to summer camp.

But all that summer sun can also trigger asthma.

The heat, pollen, and pollution are triggers for asthma, that's why the summer months can be more problematic for kids.

Dr. Scott Burger with Doctors Express says, "With the kids being more active and spending more time outside and not in the classroom, they're breathing in all this but they're also running around a lot more and so as a result... A lot more kids have asthma attacks during the summer months."

Dr. Burger says asthma can be harder to detect in younger kids. If you suspect there might be problem, here are some things to look for.

He says, “If you notice them coughing when they're playing running around the house, if they're coughing excessively but they're not demonstrating signs of illness that can be a sign of asthma."

Also pay attention to the way they're breathing. Dr. Burger says, "If you notice their breathing becomes more labored so you're seeing their ribs become more prominent during their breathing if you look in the area where their clavicles are and it looks like there's some motion there ... That could be suggestive of asthma."

Dr. Burger says don't make the mistake many parents make. “One of the things you should not do is go on the concept that you can hear wheezing with asthma that's a very frequent thing that parents say… wheezing that's from asthma typically is not heard without a stethoscope.'

If it turns out your kid does have asthma, your doctor could prescribe a nebulizer. Dr. Burger says, "A nebulizer takes the medication that's concentrated into a powder form from an inhaler and it makes it into a very fine midst and that allows the child to just breathe that in through a mask or something that's put into their mouth in a small tube."