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The underlying causes of childhood asthma aren't fully understood.

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In childhood asthma, the lungs and airways become easily inflamed when exposed to certain triggers, such as inhaling pollen or catching a cold or other respiratory infection

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Children have smaller airways than adults, which makes asthma especially serious for them. Children with asthma may experience wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and trouble breathing, especially early in the morning or at night

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Key facts

1 million children in the UK receiving treatment for asthma

24,744 emergency admissions for asthma in 2012

13 children under 14 years died from asthma in 2016

Preventable factors in 90% of childhood deaths from asthma

Less than 25% of children with asthma have a Personalised Asthma Action Plan (PAAP)

Nearly half have had an asthma attack in the previous year

30% have had daytime symptoms in the previous week

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Common symptoms are:

- Frequent coughing that worsens when your child has a viral infection, occurs while your child is asleep or is triggered by exercise or cold air
- A whistling or wheezing sound when breathing out
- Shortness of breath
- Chest congestion or tightness

Childhood asthma might also cause:

Trouble sleeping due to shortness of breath, coughing or wheezing

Bouts of coughing or wheezing that get worse with a cold or the flu

Delayed recovery or bronchitis after a respiratory infection

Trouble breathing that hampers play or exercise

Fatigue, which can be due to poor sleep

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Factors that might increase your child's likelihood of developing asthma include:
- Exposure to tobacco smoke, including before birth
- Previous allergic reactions, including skin reactions, food allergies or hay fever (allergic rhinitis)
- A family history of asthma or allergies
- Living in an area with high pollution
- Obesity

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Childhood asthma - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic

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Childhood asthma: Make a plan to control attacks-Childhood asthma - Symptoms & causes - Mayo Clinic

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The lungs and airways of children with asthma become inflamed, interfering with daily activities. Some children can have dangerous attacks.

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NHS England » Childhood asthma

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Why is it important?

Asthma is the most common long term medical condition among children and young people in the UK. It is the most common reason for urgent admissions to hospital in children and young people in England.

Unfortunately there are still a small number of avoidable deaths in children and young people from asthma every year. The UK has third highest risk of death from childhood asthma in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development nations.

Key facts

1 million children in the UK receiving treatment for asthma

24,744 emergency admissions for asthma in 2012

13 children under 14 years died from asthma in 2016

Preventable factors in 90% of childhood deaths from asthma

Less than 25% of children with asthma have a Personalised Asthma Action Plan (PAAP)

Nearly half have had an asthma attack in the previous year

30% have had daytime symptoms in the previous week

What is NHS England doing to improve care and outcomes for children and young people living with asthma?

National Paediatric Asthma Collaborative

NHS England has brought together a wide range of clinicians, commissioners and voluntary sector organisations into the National Paediatric Asthma Collaborative to work collectively on improving asthma care and support for children with asthma.

The collaborative has performed a review of existing services and their effectiveness, highlighting and sharing good practice, and outlining deficiencies at a national level. This learning has been incorporated into the following resources:

Healthy London Partnership - asthma toolkit

NHS England has worked in collaboration with the Healthy London Partnership to develop an asthma toolkit which supports healthcare professionals, schools, parents, carers, children and young people to improve care across the system for children and young people with asthma.

Severe Asthma Database

Severe asthma is a type of asthma that affects less than 5% of people with asthma. Someone with severe asthma has difficulty breathing almost all of the time, and often has serious asthma attacks. Severe asthma isn't simply 'asthma when it's really bad', or an extreme form of asthma - it's a specific type of asthma which requires specialist care and support.

NHS England has commissioned the development of a severe paediatric asthma database to collect vital information that will help support improvements in severe asthma care.

Find out more

If your organisation is involved in children's asthma projects please contact england.londonhlp_cyp@nhs.net. If you would like to know more about the work of the national team, please contact England.clinicalpolicy@nhs.net.

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Asthma is the most common long term medical condition among children and young people in the UK. It is the most common reason for urgent admissions to hospital in children and young people in England. Unfortunately there are still a small number of avoidable deaths in children and young people from asthma every year.

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Asthma UK | Asthma and your child

Lots of information and advice on here about testing for asthma and managing asthma

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Whatever your questions or concerns, we've got information from asthma experts and parents to support and reassure you.

If your child's been diagnosed with severe asthma, or you think they might have it, you can find lots of helpful information about getting the right diagnosis and treatment here.
Last updated March 2020 Next review due March 2023

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Whatever your questions or concerns, we've got information from asthma experts and parents to support and reassure you. If your child's been diagnosed with severe asthma, or you think they might have it, you can find lots of helpful information about getting the right diagnosis and treatment here.

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Asthma inhalers

The most common asthma treatments are inhalers. These are considered the best asthma treatments for most people. This is because inhalers help get the medicine to the airways where it’s needed.

Almost everyone with asthma has a preventer inhaler and a reliever inhaler.

Preventer inhalers

Everyone with asthma can benefit from a preventer inhaler.

Preventer inhalers prevent swelling and inflammation in the airways. This means you’re less likely to get symptoms if you come across your asthma triggers.

Regular preventer medicine helps prevent asthma attacks.

Reliever inhalers

Reliever inhalers relieve asthma symptoms like coughing, wheezing, breathlessness, and a tight chest.

You use your reliever inhaler just when you have symptoms or an asthma attack.

If your asthma is well controlled, you shouldn’t need to use your reliever inhaler often - or at all. But remember to always carry it with you in case symptoms do flare up.

A small number of people who have mild symptoms very infrequently may only need a reliever inhaler to use when they get symptoms.

However, some studies suggest that everyone should have a preventer inhaler too, to lower their risk of asthma attacks.