SUN RESEARCH INSTITUTE

How common is asthma in children?

Asthma is the most common chronic disease of childhood. The prevalence of asthma is increasing. This is also the case with other allergy conditions, including eczema (atopic dermatitis), hay fever (allergic rhinitis), and food allergies. According to recent CDC data, asthma affects approximately 8.5% of the pediatric population in the U.S., or more than 7 million children.

What are signs and symptoms of asthma?

The most common symptoms of childhood asthma are coughing and wheezing.

1. Coughing is typically non-productive and can frequently be the only symptom. When it is the only symptom, this is termed cough-variant asthma.

2. Wheezing is a high-pitched whistling sound produced by turbulent airflow through narrowed airways.

Other common symptoms include:

1. Difficulty breathing

2. Chest tightness

3. Poor exercise endurance

Your child might have only one of these symptoms, or several of them. You may think it’s just a cold or bronchitis. If the symptoms recur, that could be a sign that your child might have asthma. Symptoms may worsen when your child is around asthma triggers, such as irritants in the air (for example smoke or strong odors) or allergens like pollen, pet dander and dust mites.

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