Sometimes when my son is running around (particularly in the cooler months), he starts coughing and has trouble catching his breath. Could he have asthma?
Asthma can present with different symptoms including shortness of breath, wheezing, chest tightness or cough, says Sheila Bonilla, M.D., director of the Asthma and Allergy Center in the Department of Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “Children especially may present only with a cough and may not complain about having shortness of breath,” she says. Triggers of asthma can include exercise and environmental factors such as allergies or cold air. Children displaying symptoms of asthma should be evaluated by a primary care doctor or an asthma specialist—especially if the symptoms are frequent or worsening. Nearly 7 million children in the United States have asthma, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. “Asthma is a controllable disease, and prompt evaluation is key to management,” Bonilla says.
What are the risks of pregnancy for patients with rheumatoid arthritis?
“Patients with rheumatoid arthritis often have remission of joint pain during their second and third trimester,” says Glenn Ehresmann, M.D., associate professor of clinical medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “Frequently pregnancy has a positive effect on rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. Unfortunately, after the pregnancy is over and the baby is born, the symptoms come back and often are worse than they were before.”
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease causing swelling and pain of the joints, such as the shoulders, fingers, knees or ankles. Other common symptoms include fatigue and morning stiffness. RA affects women two or three times more often than men. Medications used for RA may need to be stopped before or during pregnancy to prevent harmful effects on the mother or the baby. “When a rheumatoid arthritis patient is planning a pregnancy or she becomes pregnant,” Ehresmann says, “it’s important that she works closely with her doctors.”
|
|
