Whenever our children are to undergo medical tests or procedures, it is perfectly natural to have some worries and concerns. While we all understand that it is best to trust the judgment of qualified doctors, we still can’t help but worry about our children’s well-being while they are under the care of others.
Hearing that your child has a respiratory condition and will, therefore, require respiratory therapy can be alarming. The first thing you need to do is relax! Your child being seriously ill will always concern you, but the prescription of respiratory therapy is designed to help your children to manage the symptoms of their condition.
What Does a Respiratory Therapist Do?
The role of a respiratory therapist is to diagnose, treat, and educate patients who have respiratory issues. The first time that your child meets with the respiratory therapist will usually be to interview, examine, and diagnose. They will often carry out some basic tests of lung capacity and function; these will give an indication of the overall state of your child’s lungs.
In some cases, they may want to run additional tests to look at things like your child’s oxygen levels, or even the levels of other gases in their blood. From the results of these tests, they will be able to make or confirm a diagnosis. With an accurate diagnosis in hand, the therapist will be able to devise a complete treatment plan.
What Conditions Do They Treat?
The techniques that respiratory therapists learn can often be applied to many different conditions and ailments. Among the long-term conditions which a respiratory therapist can help children to learn to manage are asthma and the early stages of chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), both of which can have a significant impact on a child’s life. Respiratory therapists will also be able to help with other short and long-term breathing problems, whatever form they might take.
If your child requires any special equipment to assist them with their breathing, a respiratory therapist will help them, and you, to understand how it works and how it is properly used. As well as assisting in the treatment of various conditions, respiratory therapists can also help children with rehabilitation following recovery from conditions which seriously affect the respiratory system.
What Kind of Qualifications do Respiratory Therapists Have?
Respiratory therapists undergo special training, they are required to complete a specific education curriculum, which earns them an associate’s degree in respiratory therapy. In order to award this degree, courses must be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care. Whether the therapists your child works with undertook respiratory therapy programs in New Jersey or in California, they will be qualified to the same standard.
Finding out that your child needs to see a respiratory therapist might come as a shock. In some cases, you will already be expecting it. Hopefully, in such cases, it represents the transition process back to food health. However, finding out this information when you aren’t expecting it can set alarm bells ringing. In reality, though, most of the work done by respiratory therapists is mundane. While breathing problems can sound scary, many are easily managed.