Respiratory and Breathing in Plano, TX

When it comes to a child’s lung health, getting the diagnosis right is paramount. Whether it is an upper respiratory infection or asthma, difficulty breathing is unpleasant at any age. Asthma, inflammation of the airways and lungs, is paired with a rough cough, chest pain, wheezing, and shortness of breath. Upper respiratory infections are no fun, either. When your child has a fever with a cough, watery eyes, a runny nose, and sore throat, it usually signals a common cold. However, when you are unsure, it is always good to have a family doctor like our board-certified pediatricians at Village Pediatrics in Plano, TX, who understand and can manage these illnesses, examine your child.

Chronic inflammation of the lungs, or asthma, can make it really hard for our children to breathe easily if they have it. In younger children, the lungs aren’t fully developed, so it’s not always feasible to run traditional asthma testing. In children 6 years and younger, the doctor will ask the parent and child, if able, to discuss the symptoms to make an asthma diagnosis. However, this isn’t always accurate enough since asthma can be confused with other conditions, such as allergies and sinusitis. In those scenarios, a doctor might have to wait until a child is older to perform a lung function test.

With a lung function test, or spirometry, a child will blow into a handheld apparatus, a spirometer, to determine how much air a child can exhale and how quickly. When asthma is believed to be triggered by allergies, allergy testing will be performed. This is when the child’s back will be pricked with extracts from common allergy triggers to see if there’s a reaction.  Our pediatricians will decide which testing method will be best suited for your child.

A dry cough that is accompanied by a low-grade fever, wheezing, a runny nose, and a sore throat can be interpreted as one of many different childhood illnesses. Bronchitis is uncomfortable, and many children develop a bark-like cough that leaves them miserable and embarrassed. When your child contracts bronchitis through a virus or environmental factor, it can last weeks, and it is best to call the doctor before the infection spreads, and to also rule out pneumonia.

Breathing treatments, or nebulizers, are usually prescribed after an asthma diagnosis. However, when children are younger than age 5, it is sometimes hard to get a proper diagnosis of asthma. To help with decreasing inflammation of the airways, our office offers breathing treatment monitoring and management for your child with troubled breathing.

Did you know that the common childhood cold is actually an upper respiratory infection? It is true. Infections of the nose, throat, sinuses, eyes, and ears are so easy to spread, especially with our young ones who explore the world through touch, and put their hands in their mouths, fingers in their noses, and rub their eyes with a disregard of germs. When your child has a chronic cold, or a spiking fever, it is best to contact the pediatrician immediately.

Depending on your child's symptoms, age, and health history, our trusted and highly experienced pediatricians will recommend the proper treatment. There is no one-size-fits-all treatment for respiratory and breathing conditions, so we can determine if an inhaler, oral medications, breathing treatments, or a combination of treatments are best suited for your child. We will be here for you to answer questions, and to manage your child's breathing treatment.

With the right medication, proper care, and a clean-air environment, your child with breathing problems can control his or her symptoms, and live a healthy, happy childhood. Our family practice has many years of experience with asthma and related conditions from diagnosing to managing chronic illness. Schedule an appointment today to get started.