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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staffAsthma is a very individual condition. Your child's doctor will consider the nature and frequency of symptoms along with results from tests to rule out other diseases before diagnosing asthma.
First, the doctor will ask for a detailed description of your child's symptoms and ask about your family history of asthma or allergic diseases such as eczema, hives or allergic rhinitis (hay fever).
- In children 6 years of age and older, doctors diagnose asthma with the same tests used to identify the disease in adults. Lung function tests (spirometry) measure how quickly and how much air your child can exhale. Your child may have pulmonary function tests at rest, after exercising and after taking asthma medication. Allergy tests also may be part of the evaluation.
- In younger children, diagnosis can be difficult because lung function tests aren't accurate before 6 years of age. Some children also simply outgrow asthma-like symptoms over time. Your doctor will rely on detailed information about symptom type and frequency when considering an asthma diagnosis in a young child. Sometimes a diagnosis is not made until later, after months or years of observing symptoms.
If you suspect your child has asthma, it's important to start the testing process early. Early diagnosis and proper treatment can prevent disruptions from daily activities such as sleep, play, sports and school. It may also prevent dangerous or even life-threatening asthma attacks.
For children younger than age 3 who have symptoms of asthma, many times doctors will use a "wait-and-see" approach. This is because the long-term effects of asthma medication on infants and young children aren't clear. If an infant or toddler has frequent or severe wheezing episodes, a course of medication may be prescribed to see if the wheezing improves symptoms.
