First aid for your Child's Asthma Attack

Know what to do during an asthma attack and help save your child's life.

Your child's asthma attack can develop from a few minutes to a few days. The first and crucial step is recognizing an asthma attack. During an asthma attack, young children may appear restless and have problems eating due to shortness of breath. They may also have severe coughing and vomiting.

If your child is short of breath, wheeze, coughs, and complains of chest tightness, he is having a mild asthma attack. If he is wheezing loudly, complains of difficulty in breathing, and can only speak in short sentences, he is suffering a moderate asthma attack.

Once you recognize an asthma attack, immediately give your child his reliever asthma medications.

During an asthma attack, your child's coughing, wheezing or breathlessness can quickly worse. Signs of a severe asthma attack include:

• Shortness of breath
• Rapid breathing
• Severe chest tightness
• Inability to speak more than one or two words per breath
• distress
• Little or no improvement after using a reliever medications
• "Sucking in" throat and ribs
• Blue color around the lips

If your child has any signs of a sever asthma attack, immediately give him his asthma medications and then take him to the nearest hospital