{"id":6124,"date":"2017-07-14T16:27:58","date_gmt":"2017-07-14T06:27:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.rch.org.au\/news\/?p=6124"},"modified":"2017-07-25T10:09:44","modified_gmt":"2017-07-25T00:09:44","slug":"ins-and-outs-of-asthma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.rch.org.au\/news\/ins-and-outs-of-asthma\/","title":{"rendered":"Ins and outs of asthma"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>An estimated 2.5 million Australians have asthma. It\u2019s a prevalent and often hereditary disease that affects more boys than girls during childhood, however it can be difficult to diagnose in very young children.<\/p>\n

Breathing problems are a common reason for children to present to the RCH\u2019s Emergency Department, but in many cases it’s not asthma – yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost children have what we call viral-induced wheeze,\u201d said Joanne Grindlay, deputy director of emergency. \u201cSome of those children go on to have asthma and lots of them don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

So when is<\/strong>\u00a0it asthma?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A proper diagnosis of asthma can only occur after a child presents with wheezing more than\u00a0once, and, importantly, when they don\u2019t have a virus.<\/p>\n

“If they\u2019re exercising or if they\u2019re exposed to pollens or they\u2019re doing other things and wheezing, then it\u2019s probably asthma,\u201d said Joanne. \u201cThey need to get it when\u00a0they don\u2019t have a cold, and it\u2019s got to be recurrent.\u201d<\/p>\n

If your child has eczema or if there\u2019s a history of asthma and allergies in the family, then they are more likely to have asthma.<\/p>\n

Other triggers for asthma include:<\/p>\n