Significance

• Asthma is a chronic disease that does not have a cure; however, asthma can be controlled. The earlier the diagnosis, the greater the understanding of the disease and the more successful treatments will be to control it.
  
  

Identification

• Common symptoms of childhood asthma include constant and/or intermittent coughing, wheezing (whistling upon exhalation of breath), rapid breathing and/or shortness of breath.
  
  

Considerations

• Almost 33 percent of hospitalization cases for children under 15 can be attributed to asthma, making it the third-leading cause of childhood hospitalization for this age group.
  
  

Misconceptions

• Childhood asthma is not a psychological problem, as is commonly believed. Though stressful or emotional situations can trigger asthmatic attacks, they are not the cause of asthma itself.
  
  

Warning

• Childhood asthma often goes undetected until major symptoms, such as heavy wheezing, rapid breathing and extreme coughing, develop.
  
  

Potential

• Early detection of asthma, before these obvious symptoms develop, can prevent children from the unnecessary development and suffering of more complex respiratory illnesses associated with untreated asthma.
  
  

Recommendations

• If your child has recurrent respiratory infections, such as bronchitis or pneumonia, and frequent coughing spasms or wheezing, he should be evaluated by a physician.