Respiratory Care Specialist
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Southern Nevada Pediatric Center
Board Certified Pediatricians located in Las Vegas, NV
Respiratory problems can make breathing difficult and make your child feel groggy and under the weather. The board-certified pediatricians of Southern Nevada Pediatric Center in Las Vegas offer a selection of testing and treatment methods for respiratory problems to help your child find relief from uncomfortable symptoms that can get in the way of daily life. The specialists can also provide helpful information on how to protect and improve the health of you and your child’s airways, and how to identify and avoid asthma triggers. Find out more by calling Southern Nevada Pediatric Center or using the online scheduling tool.
Respiratory Care Q & A
What is respiratory care?
Respiratory care refers to medical care, treatments, and services designed to relieve respiratory symptoms and resolve or manage respiratory conditions and complications.
Children have smaller respiratory systems, and, in many cases, their respiratory systems are still developing and require highly specialized pediatric respiratory care.
What is asthma?
Asthma is one of the most prevalent respiratory conditions in children and a common reason for pediatric visits.
Asthma is a chronic condition where inflammation can cause the airways to narrow, making breathing more difficult and leading to various symptoms, such as:
- Fatigue
- Coughing
- Sneezing
- Wheezing
- Shortness of breath
Your child might also experience pain and tightness in the chest and anxiety if they have trouble breathing.
An asthma attack is the sudden worsening or onset of asthma symptoms where the airways narrow, become swollen, and may fill up with mucus. An asthma attack can be quite dangerous if it isn’t properly controlled.
What causes asthma?
Asthma involves sensitive airways that respond negatively to triggers in the environment. Common asthma triggers are:
- Certain medications
- Air pollution and smoke
- Infections, such as sinusitis or colds
- Strong odors and irritants from cleaning solutions or perfumes
- Allergens, such as dust mites, mold spores, pollen, and pet dander
One type of asthma, exercise-induced asthma, can be brought on by physical activity.
To protect respiratory health, your Southern Nevada Pediatric Center pediatricians help you prevent an asthma attack, avoid exposure to an allergen, and decrease your reaction to asthma triggers.
Preventive devices and certain medications can be helpful for long-term use to decrease inflammation in the airways, such as inhalers and bronchodilators to open up swollen and restricted airways and boost breathing capacity.
Allergy medications can decrease the likelihood of an asthma attack along with other treatment methods that enhance general health, such as improved nutrition, stress reduction, regular exercise, and lifestyle changes.
Immunotherapy is a successful treatment for allergies and asthma that gradually increases the body’s tolerance to the allergen through the administration of consistent and controlled doses of the allergen.
What is croup?
Croup is an infection of the upper airway that obstructs breathing. The hallmark symptom of croup is a barking cough. Other symptoms include a fever and anxiety.
Croup is more prevalent in younger children and isn’t typically a serious condition. Croup is commonly caused by a viral infection — most often a parainfluenza virus.
Medications, lifestyle changes, and breathing devices can be used in the treatment of croup.
If you have concerns about your child’s respiratory health, call Southern Nevada Pediatric Center or schedule an appointment online.
