Yes, Asthma – But What Type?

If your child has asthma or recurrent wheezing, ask your doctor what category of asthma it is. Children with mild intermittent asthma can be managed with occasional albuterol use. Those with mild persistent asthma (or moderate or severe persistent asthma) fare much better if they also receive anti-inflammatory or preventive medicines.

A study in the February issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, though, found that most children with persistent asthma are assumed by doctors and parents to have intermittent asthma. They thus miss out on getting the right medicines – medicines that could actually improve their asthma and result in less albuterol being needed.

Classifying your child’s asthma is a conversation you want to have!