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Assessing the severity of your child's asthma attack
Disclaimer: This fact sheet is for education purposes only. Please consult with your doctor or other health professional to make sure this information is right for your child.
PDF Version availableWhen an asthma attack occurs, it is important to be able to assess the severity. Below is a checklist of asthma symptoms for mild, moderate, and severe attacks.
| Mild | Moderate | Severe |
|---|---|---|
| Mild difficulty in breathing | Obvious difficulty in breathing, using stomach muscles to breathe, child may complain of a "sore tummy". Caving in and around rib cage | Great difficulty in breathing with short, quick breaths "Sucking In" at the throat and chest Very distressed and anxious Pale and sweaty May have blue lips |
| Soft wheeze | Loud wheeze | Often no wheeze |
| Dry cough | Persistent cough | Persistent cough |
| No difficulty speaking in sentences | Speaks in short sentences only | Speaks no more than a few words in one breath |
Responding to Asthma Symptoms - Asthma First Aid
Follow your child’s Asthma Action Plan if any of the above symptoms occur. If you do not have an asthma action plan for your child, follow the Standard Asthma First Aid Plan 2 listed below.
If you are concerned, have any doubts, or your child is experiencing SEVERE symptoms seek medical attention immediately: DIAL 000
The Standard Asthma First Aid Plan
- Sit the child upright and reassure. Do not leave the child alone.
- Give 4 separate puffs of a blue reliever puffer, Asmol, Ventolin, Airomir or Epaq, one puff at a time through a spacer, with 4 breaths in between each puff. Use the blue puffer on its own if a spacer is not available.
- Wait four minutes
- If there is little or no improvement, repeat steps 2 and 3.
For publications recommended by our hospitals' experts, please visit our book shop.
The Children's Hospital at Westmead Tel: (02) 9845 0000 Fax: (02) 9845 3562 www.chw.edu.au |
Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick Tel: (02) 9382 1688 Fax: (02) 9382 1451 www.sch.edu.au |
Kaleidoscope, Hunter Children's Health Network Tel: (02) 4921 3670 Fax: (02) 4921 3599 www.kaleidoscope.org.au |
© The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick
& Kaleidoscope, Hunter Children's Health Network - 2005-2012.
& Kaleidoscope, Hunter Children's Health Network - 2005-2012.
