Asthma Overview

Important facts about Asthma

• Asthma is a medical, physiological condition.
• There is no causal relationship between parenting skills and asthma. Asthma is caused by genetic predisposition and physical factors, not poor parenting.
• Children with asthma often (about 50%) experience a reduction or disappearance of symptoms as they grow into adulthood, but there are no guarantees about any child growing out of asthma or that their symptoms will not return at a later date.
• Often people experience a reduction in symptoms when moving to a different climate, at least temporarily. However, as people become accustomed to the new environment, new allergens (pollens, etc.) can pop up – trading one allergen for another.
• Asthma can kill. The best prevention is well-managed asthma and early detection and intervention in attacks. Under treatment leads to more deaths than over treatment of asthma.
• Exercise is as important for those with asthma as those without. Properly controlled asthma can allow children to participate in most or all activities.
• Coughing is often as much an indication of asthma as wheezing. Some asthmatics cough and wheeze, others only cough.
• Asthma is triggered by emotional upsets.