Parents must first learn the triggers for their child's asthma before they can effectively manage. The key to successful asthma management is to anticipate problems before they occur. Since each asthmatic is unique, parents have to learn the triggers the hard way — at least for the first episode for each trigger.

The Abominable Viruses

By far, cold viruses are the biggest culprits for triggering asthma attacks in children. Whenever your asthmatic child comes down with a cold, you must brace yourself and expect the worst from his asthma. It is usually a good idea to strike back preemptively by escalating the intensity of asthma medications at the earliest sign of a cold. Doing so could potentially prevent a disastrous asthma attack, one that could land your child in the emergency room or even in the hospital.

Exactly how you should increase the asthma medication needs to be directed by your child's pediatrician. Before asthma strikes, every asthmatic child needs to have a clear plan. Talk to your doctor if you don't have a very detailed counter-strike strategy to prevent severe asthma attacks.

Prevention is far preferable to dealing with a crisis. If your child's asthma worsens with each cold, the best strategy is to avoid catching a cold in the first place.

Allergies as Triggers

The other common trigger for childhood asthma is nasal allergy. If your child has specific allergies that make his nose runny and congested, these allergens can trigger both the nasal allergy and asthma simultaneously.

The most common indoor allergens include dust and pet dander. These triggers can often be controlled to some degree, but there are exceptions. Parents can minimize the accumulation of dust inside the household but usually cannot eliminate it completely. Pets can be kept outdoors in the yard or at least outside of the child's bedroom. Making sure that nobody smokes is beneficial for everyone involved. Secondhand smoke is not only bad for asthma, it carries numerous other health risks as well.

Outdoor allergens are more difficult to avoid than indoor ones. Many children are allergic to pollens or grass. Since you cannot completely remove all vegetation from the neighborhood, the only effective way to avoid these outdoor allergens is to control the nasal allergy with medications.

Activity as Trigger

Most children with asthma experience shortness of breath when their activity level increases. While this is not universally true for pediatric asthmatics, it's common enough to cause a lot of problems for active children.

Many parents and teachers approach this type of asthma prevention the wrong way. They restrict the amount and type of activities these children can engage in because of their asthma condition. This is one of the worst things that can be done to these children.

These children need to participate in physical activities as much as anyone else does. They should never be held back because of their asthma. Instead of letting their asthma dictate what they can and cannot do, parents must use whatever medication they need so that these children can do anything their hearts desire. You should control your children's asthma so the asthma does not control their lives.