By Nora Cain

One in six children will be treated for asthma, a condition that accounts for more emergency room visits than any other childhood illness. Surveys indicate that asthma is becoming more common.

More people are having more severe attacks, and not surprisingly, hospitalization rates have also increased.

The cause of this increase is not known, although some experts believe that it could be due to greater numbers of allergens, such as house dust mites in homes that are warmer, more tightly sealed and better humidified.”

The book “Conquering Childhood Asthma” by Bruce K. Rubin, M.D., Michael T. Newhouse, M.D., and Peter J. Barnes, M.D., covers its subject well.

“Conquering Childhood Asthma” is part of The Health Library’s eBook collection and may be checked out and read online from our Web site at no charge. This book approaches understanding the chronic nature of asthma through a methodical explanation of the disease in the first chapter, “What is Asthma ?”

Subsequent chapters that discuss normal air passages and lungs and how injury to them can lead to asthma, may help you untangle your child’s asthma history.

The third chapter, “How to Tell If your Child Has Asthma,” can help you determine if you need to pursue your child’s condition further with the doctor. The symptoms in young children are often similar to viral infections, but sorting them out isn’t very easy.

“In summary, a single wheezy episode with a viral chest cold does not necessarily signify that your child has asthma. Many viral infections cause a transient asthma-like condition, but this usually clears up within a few weeks, or at the most in a month or two. It is recurring or persisting cough, breathlessness and/or wheezing, often with failure to improve completely between episodes, that are the cardinal features of asthma. The diagnosis of asthma can best be made with certainty over a period of time, by making measurements of lung function, examination of phlegm for eosinophils and assessing response to asthma therapy.”

One chapter discusses how doctors test for asthma. It can provide a clearer understanding of what the procedures analyze, and what to expect as you and your child go through the diagnostic process.

“Conquering Childhood Asthma” provides a clear approach to controlling asthma and the attacks themselves. There is even a chapter on how to determine when an asthma attack requires emergency treatment. This is information to share with relatives and baby sitters as well.

The final chapter covers the most commonly asked questions about childhood asthma. You can jump ahead by clicking on the link to that part of the book.

“Let’s Talk About Having Asthma” by Elizabeth Weitzman is written for children. If your child has asthma, or has a friend who has asthma, this book is a helpful tool for explaining what it’s all about. The photographs and simple to understand text make this subject approachable for young children. It is available online from the eBook collection at no charge.

The Health Library resources are not intended as a substitute for medical care. The main branch is located at 2-B Stanford Shopping Center. For more information, call 725-8400 or logon to healthlibrary.stanford.edu. The Health Library is a community service of Stanford Hospital and Clinics.