Is Asthma Forever?
Every case is different. Sometimes very young children will grow out of the condition or show milder symptoms by preschool age or adolescence, but others will continue to have the condition throughout childhood.
Essential
For many years, it was thought that an educated guess regarding a child's asthma could be made based on a family's history with asthma and allergies. However, researchers also are looking closely now at the how viral infections during the early years could be connected to asthma later in life as well.
The main point is don't automatically assume that your child will grow out of it: Only time will tell. The condition does need to be treated and managed immediately to prevent possible long-term problems. Just remember that half of all children with asthma symptoms generally develop them before their first few birthdays. The sooner the asthma symptoms are under control, the better she — and your entire family will feel.
When It's a Wheeze
Among infants, researchers have found that about 20 percent have wheezing only with upper respiratory tract infections. However, 60 percent of these infants no longer had wheezing by the time they reached preschool.
To understand wheezing better, researchers have put babies under one year of age who have asthma symptoms and wheeze into two basic categories: Those without allergies or a family history without allergies and those infants with allergic reactions or whose families had a history of allergies. The nonallergic infants were found to wheeze most frequently when they had an upper respiratory viral infection. But when they grew older, the airways of these “transient wheezers” grew larger and the wheezing stopped.
Fact
For those infants with allergies who also wheezed with respiratory viral infections, the outcomes appear different: They were found more likely to be wheezing when they were ages six to eleven years. Sometimes, the asthma continued beyond childhood.
Australian researchers, studying the link between asthma and respiratory illness, have suggested that protecting infants with allergies from viral infections could prevent later development of persistent asthma. In a study of 198 children assessed from ages six months through five years, viral respiratory infections — usually rhinovirus or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) — were found to interact with allergies during early infancy. This was associated with a “maximal risk” for subsequent asthma, the researchers said.
Food Allergies and Eczema
Other research has shown that infants with food allergies or eczema that appear before the age of three years may have a higher risk of developing asthma. Children may show wheezing or chest congestion during a respiratory illness.
While avoiding foods, such as milk or eggs, that can cause the food allergy, those actions usually did not prevent children from developing asthma or allergies later in life. However, it is very important to accurately determine if your child has an allergy to a food before restricting an important source of nutrition, such as milk. Consulting with your health care provider or a pediatric dietitian may be needed.
