Patient information from BMJ

Asthma in children: questions to ask your doctor

Last published:Jul 10, 2020

If your child has been diagnosed with asthma you may want to talk to your doctor to find out more.

Here are some questions that you might want to ask.

Questions about the diagnosis

• How do you know for certain that my child has asthma?

• Could my child's symptoms be caused by something else, such as a cold?

• Why does my child have asthma?

Questions about treatment

• What treatment does my child need?

• Can you explain the differences between the medicines?

• When should my child use a reliever and when should he or she use a preventer?

• Which treatments should my child have with him or her at all times?

• Do the treatments have side effects?

• Can you show us how to use the inhaler correctly?

• Do you think my child needs a spacer or a nebuliser?

• How can I tell if my child's asthma isn't being controlled well?

• What should I do if the reliever doesn't seem to be helping my child's breathing?

• When should I take my child to the accident and emergency department?

Questions about other things you can do

• Should my child have an allergy test?

• Is there anything I can do to prevent my child having asthma attacks?

• My child gets asthma during exercise. Should I stop him or her doing sport?

• What should I tell my child's teachers? Should the school keep medicines for my child?

• Will my child grow out of having asthma?