Asthma
If your child has asthma, remember that we have two goals. The short-range goal is to improve breathing, reduce wheezing and reduce coughing so he or she can get on with life without having to worry about breathing and coughing all the time.
The longer-term goal, when appropriate, is figuring it out what it takes to keep from getting sick with asthma so often. No one should have to live with coughing every night or even frequently, or with getting out of breath in the course of regular life – at least not without the benefit of a serious effort to control the problem.
As a practical matter, this usually means taking medication on a regular, ongoing, daily basis to prevent asthma symptoms. If we can figure out another way to get rid of the symptoms – such as figuring out what ‘s causing them and getting rid of the provocation (perhaps a pet) – that may make more sense than taking medicine all the time.
But either way, if you’re having to listen to coughing and wheezing, it means we’re not doing as good a job as we would like at controlling this very common and very bothersome disease. And it means you need to come in to reevaluate what we’re doing and figure out what we can do differently.
This can’t be done over the phone.