When you visit your specialist that manages your child’s asthma, you probably have many questions and concerns to address. Some parents may get frustrated by providers that direct questions at the child, rather than the parent. New research published in the July issue of the medical journal Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology show why it is so important to let your child speak up at their doctor visits.
“Our research shows that physicians should ask parents and children about the effects asthma is having on the child’s daily life,” said study lead author Margaret Burks, of the pediatrics department of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.
“Parents can often think symptoms are better or worse than what the child is really experiencing, especially if they are not with their children all day,” Burks said.
Researchers looked at 80 children with asthma. They found that the children overwhelmingly reported having a better quality of life and fewer complications from their asthma symptoms than what their parents described. Children expressed far fewer activity limitations than their parent’s expressed, as well.
Ramie Tritt, M.D., President, Atlanta ENT
