 RESPONSES BY SUBJECT
 Are there any special problems in diagnosing asthma in children? Do they vary by age?
What do you think are the special issues and challenges in treating children with asthma? Do they vary by age?
What questions do parents/carers and patients ask of you?
Which educational strategies work?
Which in your opinion are the top three problems children and parents/carers face in managing asthma in daily life?
RESPONSES BY COUNTRY
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Responses by countrySvein Høegh Henrichsen (Norway):
Are there any special problems in diagnosing asthma in children? Do they vary by age?The problem is to be aware when children come with their [upper airway] infections that it might be something else, something underlying the infections.What do you think are the special issues and challenges in treating children with asthma? Do they vary by age?The problem with smaller children very often would be the parents. The older they get, the more they are aware, the more you can communicate with the child about their asthma. I think that the greatest challenge actually is to motivate them to take their asthma medication every day, especially the inhaled corticosteroid because they don't feel the direct release from it, and parents are often afraid of corticosteroids. And most people don't like taking medication every day anyway; it's not different for children. That's the purpose of my asthma nurse as well: to take quite a bit of time to inform them of the disease and treatment.What questions do parents/carers and patients ask of you?Obviously they are concerned about the diagnosis because they have heard a lot about asthma, that it's dangerous, that it's chronic. They also ask about the prognosis. They wonder how they can lead a normal life with their asthma.Which educational strategies work?I think one has to explain the nature of the disease, that there is an underlying inflammation, that there are chronic changes, and that the treatment is to treat the inflammation, to reduce it; also to explain how the medication works. And to discuss triggers and what to do to avoid triggers. First of all, you have to find out what triggers the asthma and to discuss how they might avoid them. The main thing I think is to motivate children to take their medication regularly, which is the biggest problem actually.Which in your opinion are the top three problems children and parents/carers face in managing asthma in daily life?
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