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Symptom Checker
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Asthma Treatment in Kids
Children with mild persistent asthma have symptoms more often than is desirable, so they should be on daily "control" medications to try to decrease the frequency and severity of symptoms.
For control (prevention) of symptoms, the following are recommended for young children with mild persistent asthma:
Preferred treatment -- low-dose inhaled steroid
Alternative treatment -- cromolyn or a leukotriene modifier.
However, all children with asthma may need occasional "rescue" medications to treat asthma "attacks," occasional periods of asthma symptoms, often triggered by a viral infection (such as the common cold), exposure to an allergen (for example, pets or pollens), or exposure to an irritant (such as cigarette smoke).
For quick relief of symptoms, the following are recommended for young children with mild persistent asthma:
Preferred treatment -- short-acting inhaled (breathed-in) beta-2 agonist
Alternative treatment -- short-acting oral (taken by mouth) beta-2 agonist
If the symptoms are severe, or the child has had severe attacks in the past, a short course of steroids given by mouth or directly into the bloodstream may be recommended.
Click below for more information on the treatments recommended above.
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