Ask the Expert

Topic: parents

Question: My son will be 2 years old this month. He has had bronchitis about 5 to 6 times since he was born. He was hospitalized for it once. Our pediatrican prescribed a nebulizer for him to use when he starts to get a cough. He was just starting to get bronchitis again and I gave him his treatments. I asked his doctor if there was any way he is getting asthma. It runs in his father's family. She said he is too young to diagnose. Is there any way that we can figure out if he has asthma or not? Why is he getting bronchitis so easily?

Answer: Recurring bronchitis in a 2 year old child is most commonly associated with airway inflammation and wheezing. This may represent transient wheezing of infancy which is usually outgrown by 4 to 5 years or true asthma which is a chronic condition. Treatment is essentially the same for both conditions and uses asthma medications to control airway inflammation and minimize episodes of wheezing.

Answered on -- by Robert Fink, MD, director of pulmonary medicine

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