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Keeping Little Noses Breathing Easier
Respiratory infections are no fun at any age, but new research points to respiratory infections early in life being associated with the development of asthma later in childhood. Learning to treat young children with respiratory conditions and helping those with asthma manage the disease are two major goals for students in the respiratory therapy (RT) program in the MU School of Health Professions.
Photos by Sara Parker
MU respiratory therapy students Jenny Akers Zerina Omeragic do blood pressure and lung inflation assessments on their young client.
Each fall, senior RT students visit the Child Development Lab on the MU campus to learn how to assess pediatric patients. The children benefit form the Mizzou students working with them in a non-clinical setting. “They learn it’s not scary to have these things done,” says Sara Parker, clinical instructor of respiratory therapy in the School of Health Professions. “The respiratory therapy students benefit for the same reason. They get to learn assessment skills in a non-clinical setting without the added stress of learning on a sick child.”
Parker says working with young children requires the RTs to have outstanding assessment skills as the children often cannot tell what is wrong. The respiratory therapist must be able to assess their young patients, determine the problem and present a solution. “When working with pediatrics we are not just treating the patient, we are treating the family. Education is very important to provide effective therapy at home.”
When a child is diagnosed with asthma, getting them to help with their own treatment is critical. Parker has just completed a six-week asthma training course for children at Benton Elementary School. The “Open Airways” program is designed by the American Lung Association to teach elementary school children how to care for their asthma. Mizzou RT students visited Benton students in grades three through five with a diagnosed asthma condition each week after school to offer tips on recognizing their asthma symptoms and taking steps to prevent those symptoms.
“We want them to feel more confident about controlling their asthma,” Parker says. “Uncontrolled or poorly controlled asthma can be a barrier to learning. Giving children ‘ownership’ in their care can improve adherence to therapy and increase symptom-free days.”
Asthma warning signs parents should look for, according to Parker, are increased wheezing that does not respond to usual treatment and any bluish discoloration of the lips, face or fingernail beds.
Even if they don’t have asthma, many children do suffer with seasonal allergies. As the trees bloom and grass grows in the spring, Parker says those symptoms can make life tough for little heads and noses. While many people like to have their windows open, Parker says keeping them closed helps cut down on allergens in the home. “
Allergy control is always a little tricky in the spring,” she says. “Besides keeping the windows closed, allergy symptoms can be reduced by staying indoors when pollen counts are highest, usually midday.” Other tips to keep allergies at bay are:
- changing clothes and showering before bedtime after playing outside
- washing bed linens in hot water at least once a week
- avoiding drying bed linens on an outside line
— Cheri Ghan
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MU respiratory therapy student Andrew Fegley checks breathing on a child at the University’s Child Development Lab. Fegley will graduate in May from the MU School of Health Professions.
A broken arm doesn’t keep RT student Nathan Fennewald from checking the carotid pulse on this pediatric client.
Page last updated on: September 29, 2009
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