ASTHMA AND CHILDREN
If you’ve made any changes to help your son or daughter avoid everyday triggers, there’s a good chance that asthma may be affecting your child’s life more than you think. You may not remember all the changes you’ve made, but you certainly will remember the symptoms of asthma in children—coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath.
The truth is, if your child has asthma, you cannot always predict when he or she will come in contact with triggers—they can be anywhere. Taking a daily controller medicine could help in reducing asthma symptoms.
The thought of having your child take an asthma medicine every day may be new for you. However, it could be something to ask your child’s doctor about if your child is using a fast-acting inhaler for symptoms more than 2 days a week.
Facts about kids and asthma
- Asthma is a chronic condition. Even when symptoms are not noticeable, the underlying condition is always there. That’s why, if your child’s doctor has prescribed asthma medicine, it is important for your child to keep taking it as directed.
- With treatment, your child with asthma should be able to be active and participate in normal activities.
- Millions of children have asthma.
- Asthma can begin at any age. Up to 80% of children with asthma experience symptoms for the first time before they are 5 years old. However, diagnosing asthma in infants and young children can be difficult because some infections and viruses can cause similar symptoms.
- At a young age, asthma is more common in boys than in girls. By adulthood, however, this is no longer the case.
- When one or both parents have asthma, there is a greater likelihood that their child will have it too.
SINGULAIR is a prescription medicine used to prevent asthma attacks and for long-term treatment of asthma in adults and children 12 months and older.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
- You or your child should not take SINGULAIR for relief right away from a sudden asthma attack. Always have your or your child's rescue inhaler medicine with you for asthma attacks. Tell your healthcare provider right away if your or your child's asthma symptoms get worse or if you need, or your child needs, to use rescue inhaler medicine more often for asthma attacks.
- SINGULAIR may cause serious side effects. Behavior and mood-related changes have been reported: agitation including aggressive behavior or hostility, bad or vivid dreams, depression, disorientation (confusion), feeling anxious, hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that are not really there), irritability, restlessness, sleepwalking, suicidal thoughts and actions (including suicide), tremor, and trouble sleeping. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have, or your child has, any of these symptoms while taking SINGULAIR.
- The most common side effects with SINGULAIR include upper respiratory infection, fever, headache, sore throat, cough, stomach pain, diarrhea, earache or ear infection, flu, runny nose, and sinus infection.
- SINGULAIR should not be taken by people who are sensitive to any of its ingredients.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Please read the Patient Information and discuss it with your doctor. The physician Prescribing Information also is available.
SINGULAIR is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc.20852779(12)-06/10-SNG
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