Young breathers
Children and adolescents can pick up an unhelpful breathing pattern after illness, asthma, sport, anxiety, or mouth breathing that never quite switched off. That can show up as breathlessness with play, chest or throat tightness, poor exercise recovery, night-time restlessness, or a child who “can’t get a full breath” with a normal test.
Assessment is age-appropriate and usually includes watching the pattern at rest and with movement. Parents are part of the session. Treatment is simple retraining first; devices such as POWERBreathe are only considered when the child can use them well and a resting pattern is already in place.
Bring any asthma plan and recent letters from the GP or paediatrician.