Community Pediatric Asthma Service

lungs

What is Asthma?

Asthma is a chronic or long-term disease of the airways, the tubes that carry air into our lungs. Asthma causes swelling in our airways and makes the tubes you breathe through get smaller, which makes it difficult to breathe.

Does my child have asthma?

What does asthma look like?

Cough

Cough

...in the middle of the night

Cold Symptoms

Cold Symptoms

...including congestion, cough, trouble breathing, that won't go away after a few weeks

Wheezing

Wheezing

...coughing, trouble breathing or chest tightness after a few minutes of exercise or during specific times of the year, such as allergy or cold season

lungs

What asthma does to your lungs

Asthma makes breathing difficult
and often results in coughing, wheezing,
shortness of breath and tightness in the chest. 

Here's what happens to your body if you have asthma:

Triggers

Inhaled triggers cause the lungs to over-react

Airways

The airways in the lungs get inflamed or swollen

Mucous Builds

Mucus is produced and builds up in the airways

Tighten & Squeeze

Sometimes the muscles around the airways tighten and squeeze the airways

Asthma may be more likely when children have:

Family with Asthma

  • or allergic conditions, such as eczema, hay fever, and even food allergies

Exposure to Triggers

  • at home such as cigarette smoke, animal or dust allergies

Allergies or Eczema

  • can make asthma symptoms worse and cause asthma to be uncontrolled
Resources


Videos
• Early warning signs of asthma
• Uncovering Asthma Misconceptions
• Understanding childhood asthma

Walk | Run | Play | Breathe
Material on this website has been designed for information purposes only. It should not be used in place of medical advice, instruction and/or treatment.
If you have specific questions, please consult your doctor or appropriate health care professional.

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