How did this happen?

More and more children are getting asthma than ever before. If your child has asthma, but you don't, you may need to make lifestyle changes to prevent attacks in your child.
Having asthma is like holding your nose with one hand, putting a straw in your mouth, and breathing only through the straw. Its a very stressful situation, since most people don't have to think about breathing. Someone with asthma always has to think about breathing.

"Triggers" are things that are know to cause asthma attacks.Your family physician or pulmonary doctor will give you a list of "Triggers" which should include:

Exercise - Exercise can be anything from turning over in bed, to walking across a street to running. Any activity at all can cause shortness of breath in someone with asthma. The term for this is "exercise induced asthma"
Cold Weather - Your child can be fine all year and then when cold weather hits, he is panting or coughing incessantly. For some people, being in the cold air is not a trigger, as long as they are still, and not moving. If your child has breathing problems in cold weather, be sure to tell him that placing a scarf or the palm of his hand against his nose and mouth will make breathing easier. Its also better to breath through the nose if possible, to give the air a chance to warm before it enters the lungs.
Hot, Humid Weather - Many asthmatics can not breathe in this type of weather. The best thing to do here is to stay inside.
Air Conditioning - Depending on the temperature, this can cause coughing and breathing problems. Whether its air conditioning in a car, in your home, in your doctor's office or in a store.
Perfume of any kind.
Cologne or scented shaving lotion
Perfumed products such as dishwasher detergent,
Scented Bath & Body Products - anything from Ulta, Bath & Body Works is dangerous. Please do not take your asthmatic child into any of these stores. Even a trip to the mall could be troublesome nowadays. Just because he showed no reaction the last time you went, doesn't mean damage has not been done... It has. And it can't be undone.
Scented hair care products
Scented laundry detergent
Scented fabric softener
Air fresheners - this is all encompassing, including the plug-in air fresheners, febreze. The best air freshener is outdoor air.
Mold
Mildew
Smoke from Cigarettes
Smoke from fires including:
    a) fires that you start in your fireplace
    b) woodburners (Yes, this saves you money but will definitely contribute to your child's breathing problems.)
    c) fire pits - Fires built in fire pits, even though they are in wide open spaces are major contributing factors to asthma attacks and shortness of breath.
    d) burning leaves or trash - Not only does this cause shortness of breath in asthmatics, it is a major polluter of the environment.
    e) Bonfires - Schools still do this before football games in the fall. This is an activity that's tough to miss if your child is a sports fan, but this is not a good environment at all for an asthmatic to be in. 
Candles - even if the candles are unscented, the smoke is an irritant.
Chlorine - pay attention here in the summertime. Some people are fine with this, others are not at all. Whether or not your child is ok swimming in a chlorinated pool, it is never a good idea to take your child into a pool store (or even Wal-Mart) where he will be exposed to major doses of pool chemicals.
Lawn & Garden Chemicals - Please do not take your child with you to purchase weed killer, bug killer or soil additives. Apply the product outdoors by yourself and keep your child indoors for at least 24 hours after the application. Using any kind of chemical bug killer indoors shouldn't be done at all. If you insist, keep your child away for as long as possible. Everything your spray sinks to the floor and will be thrown up as dust at some later date. Your child will still breathe these chemicals even if he is not around why you initially spray. Lung damage can not be undone.

The buildup of exposure to the above triggers will severely limit your child's ability to breathe without assistance later in life. Lifelong breathing problems will escalate at a rate dependent upon how much of an "overdose" and how often exposure to the triggers occur.

Start a diary showing when asthma flares up. Think about where your child was and what was going on in the area he was in.
Watch your child. Don't depend on your child telling you that he/she is having a problem breathing. They may not even realize it, because most times they will just try to adjust.
Is your child tired frequently, when he normally is fairly active? If your child can't get his lungs filled with air, he will just slow down and not want to do much, because its too difficult.
Is your child coughing a lot? This can occur anytime, day or night. If your child can't laugh without coughing, that's a trouble sign.
Is your child wheezing? Wheezing is loud breathing or a whistling sound, either in the chest or in the throat.
Is your child breathing like he just ran a mile, even though he only walked up a couple of steps? A fast acting inhaler or breathing treatment can help in this instance before it gets too out of hand. A fast pulse is also a sign that more air is needed.
Is your child going hoarse? Losing your voice is a classic symptom of being exposed too long to environmental products, whether it is perfume, the laundry detergent aisle in the grocery store, or paint. Remove you child from the area so that he can breathe.

Your responsibility as caregiver of a child with asthma:
Be sure your child gets a flu shot each year. Asthmastics are hit particularly hard when a cold or flu strikes. It could take weeks to fully recover.

Listen to the news. If today is an "Environmental Action Day", limit your child's "outdoor" playtime since it will be hard to breathe. You may not even notice the difference in his breathing, but they track the bad particulates in the air to prevent breathing problems.

Make a list of questions to ask the doctor. Taking a tape recorder to the appointment is a good idea so you don't miss anything or misunderstand directions. Its good to be able to refer back to the recording.

One of the best things you can do for your child, is to join a forum or group of people who have asthma. Most doctors don't have asthma and are not well versed in all aspects of the disease as it is experienced in real life. The people in the forums are real people with real problems. Since every asthmatic person has different "triggers", these forums can help you find answers to specific problems that doctors are not familiar with.