Can Kids with Asthma Play Sports?
By Elana Pearl Ben-Joseph, MD
May 24, 2009
You probably know that asthma can cause breathing problems. So can kids with asthma play sports? You bet they can! Being active and playing sports is an especially good idea if you have asthma. Why? Because it can help your lungs get stronger, so they work better.
Some athletes with asthma have done more than develop stronger lungs. They’ve played professional football and basketball, and they’ve even won medals at the Olympic Games! Some sports are less likely to bother a person’s asthma. Golf and yoga are less likely to trigger flare-ups, and so are sports like baseball, football, and gymnastics.
In some sports, you need to keep going for a long time. These activities may be harder for people with asthma. They include cycling, long-distance running, soccer, basketball, cross-country skiing, and ice hockey. But that doesn’t mean you can’t play these sports if you really like them. In fact, many athletes with asthma have found that with the right training and medicine, they can do any sport they choose.
But before playing sports, it’s important that your asthma is under control. That means you aren’t having lots of symptoms or flare-ups. To make this happen, it’s very important that you take all asthma medicine just like your doctor tells you to, even when you are feeling OK.
Your doctor will also tell you some other things you can do to avoid flare-ups. This may mean skipping outdoor workouts when there is lots of pollen in the air, wearing a scarf or ski mask when you play outside during the winter, or making sure you always have time for a careful warm up and cool down.
Make sure your coach and teammates know about your asthma. That way, they will understand if you need to stop working out because of breathing trouble. It’s also helpful if your coach knows which steps to take if you have a flare-up. Listen to your body and follow the instructions your doctor gave you for handling breathing problems. And if you keep your asthma in good control, you’ll be in the game and not on the sidelines
Source: Kids Health
Help with Hives
By Elana Pearl Ben-Joseph, MD
May 13, 2009
After eating some big, red strawberries, you decide to walk to your friend’s house. Just as you’re turning the corner, you notice reddish bumps and patches on your arms and chest. What are these itchy welts or blotches on your skin? Should you turn around and head home?
What Are Hives?
Hives are pink or red bumps or slightly raised patches of skin. Sometimes, they have a pale center. Hives usually itch, but they also can burn or sting.
Hives can occur anywhere on the body and vary in size and shape. They can be small like a mosquito bite or big like a dinner plate. Hives also might look like rings or groups of rings joined together. Hives can appear in clusters and might change locations in a matter of hours. A bunch of hives might be on a person’s face, then those might go away. Later some more may appear on a person’s arms.
Hives are common – between 10% and 25% of people get them at least once in their lives. They are usually harmless, though they may occasionally be a sign of a serious allergic reaction. (So, yes, you should go home and tell your mom or dad.)
The medical term for hives is urticaria (say: ur-tuh-kar-ee-uh). When a person is exposed to something that can trigger hives, certain cells in the body release histamine (say: his-tuh-meen) and other substances. This causes fluid to leak from the small blood vessels under the skin. When this fluid collects under the skin, it forms the blotches, which we call hives.
Why Do I Get Hives?
People can get hives for lots of different reasons. Often, the cause is not known. One common reason for getting hives is an allergic reaction. Some common allergic triggers are certain foods (like milk, shellfish, berries, and nuts), medications (such as antibiotics), and insect stings or bites. Other causes of hives are not related to allergies and these can include:
exposure to the cold (like diving into a cold pool)
No matter what the cause, a case of hives can last for a few minutes, a few hours, or even days.
What Will the Doctor Do?
Doctors usually can diagnose hives just by looking at you and hearing your story about what happened. The doctor can try to help figure out what might be causing your hives, although often the cause will remain a mystery. If you’re getting hives a lot, or your reaction was serious, your doctor might send you to another doctor who specializes in allergies.
Sometimes, doctors will suggest you take a type of medication called an antihistamine to relieve the itchiness. In many cases, hives clear up on their own without any medication or doctor visits.
Less often, hives can be a sign of a more serious allergic reaction that can affect breathing and other body functions. In these cases, the person needs immediate medical care. Some people who know they have serious allergies carry a special medicine to use in an emergency. This medicine, called epinephrine, is given by a shot. Ordinarily, a nurse gives you a shot, but because some allergic reactions can happen really fast, many adults and kids carry this emergency shot with them and know how to use it, just in case they ever need it in a hurry.
Can I Prevent Hives?
Yes and no. The answer is “yes” if you know what causes your hives – the strawberries at the start of this article, for example. If you know they cause you trouble, you can just avoid them. If you get hives when you’re nervous, relaxation breathing exercises may help. But if you don’t know why you get hives, it’s tough to prevent them.
Some kids get hives when they have a virus, such as a bad cold or a stomach flu. Other than washing your hands regularly, there’s not much you can do to avoid getting sick occasionally. The good news is that hives usually aren’t serious and you might even grow out of them. Who wouldn’t want to give hives the heave-ho?
Source: Kids Health