Can Children Outgrow Their Asthma

Many mothers of asthmatic children pose the question, "will my child outgrow asthma?" It's a difficult question with no easy answer.I came across an interesting article in the New York Times recently, which suggests that a child could outgrow their asthma. Citing a study of Obstructive Lung Disease in North Sweden the report states that "researchers followed children who had asthma at age 7 to 8 and found that by age 19, 21 percent had experienced no wheezing the previous three years and had reported no need for inhalers. The findings appeared in the journal Pediatrics."The study also noted that "asthma symptoms could return, but the asthma would be considered in remission rather cured. Girls were less likely than boys to be asthma-free as teenagers: 14 percent for girls, compared with 26 percent for boys. The reason was not clear though it could relate to hormonal factors during adolescence, said Dr. Martin Andersson, who led the study."Another interesting view of this problem is cited by the Mayo Clinic.On its website it states "in young children it can be difficult to tell whether symptoms such as coughing, wheezing or shortness of breath are caused by asthma or something else. Sometimes what seems to be asthma turns out to be another condition such as bronchitis, recurrent pneumonia or bronchilitis. These conditions typically improve as children get older."It further states that, however "persistent wheezing during childhood, having a skin allergy such as atopic dermatitis or having hay fever are clues that your child may have asthma that's likely to persist into adolescence and adulthood."It's important that you have an asthma treatment plan for your child. If you suspect your child may have asthma, or have questions about your child's treatment plan, and live in the NYC area, contact my office for a consultation, 212-247-7447. Read more about asthma on my website nycallergydoctor.com