Diagnosing asthma in young children is hard because children often cough and wheeze with colds and chest infections but this is not necessarily bronchial asthma. Young children have very small, narrow respiratory tracts and on average have a 6 -8 colds per year, normally between September and March. 

History:

The physician will take a detailed history of:

  • Family allergy/ bronchial asthma with emphasis on parents
  • Child’s Allergy history- e.g. eczema
  • Child’s history of unwellness to date e.g. oftenness of colds
  • Child’s symptoms: Severity, oftenness and length of symptoms. What brings an end to the symptoms for example if the child has a cold, do the symptoms disappear when the cold is over?
  • Child’s triggers: what have the parents observed with respect to exposures to allergens or irritants, such as smoke, perfume, infection or emotions
  • This information helps the physician understand a child’s pattern of symptoms.
symptoms of asthma in infants and toddlers:

In general bronchial asthma symptoms include coughing wheezing and shortness of breath. bronchial symptoms vary widely with numerous children. numerous coughing all night but are symptom free during the day, while others seem to get frequent chest colds that won’t go away. coughing is often the only symptom in young children.