Question: How Do I Know My Child Has Asthma?
Answer:
While 80% to 90% of asthmatics are diagnosed in early childhood, an asthma diagnosis can sometimes be tricky to make. Young children cannot tell you they feel bad, they are wheezing, and may have mild or infrequent symptoms. Any child with one or a combination of the following symptoms could have asthma:
- Cough - Could be constant or infrequent and often worse at night
- Wheezing
- Chest tightness - Children may complain of their chest hurting
- Tiredness - May not preform normal activities or keep up with siblings/ other children
- Sleeping problems - Frequent awakenings due to breathing or coughing
- Shortness of breath and fast breathing
- Infants - May struggle to feed and you may hear grunting
- Older children - May avoid activities due to difficulty breathing or fatigue
If your child has any of these symptoms, you may want to discuss asthma with your healthcare provider. Asthma can sometimes be difficult to diagnose as the symptoms mentioned above can occur in diseases other than asthma.
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Source:
UpToDate. Patient Information. Accessed march 15, 2009. Asthma symptoms and diagnosis in children.
