Kids get colds. It’s a fact of life – especially for kids in preschool or early daycare. A new study from the Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology asked how common colds with wheezing in pre-school children (0-8 years old) might be associated with developing asthma.
What is a “rhinovirus infection?”
You may call it the common cold, the sniffles, a bug. The geekier among us may call it a member of the picornaviridae family. Your allergist or pediatrician might call it “rhinovirus.”
By any name, this little virus sweeps its way through schools, families, friends, and neighborhoods leaving a trail of tissues and red noses in its wake.
Sometimes, the common cold comes with wheeze (a gurgling, whistling, or rumbling sound cause by breathing in narrowed airway tubes. More: What is wheezing?) Some children are more likely to have wheezing and coughing with colds than others.
How does a child’s cold have to do with asthma?
The researchers in this study looked to see if children who had wheezing causes by rhinovirus infections also were more likely to have decreased lung function. It turns out that they are. Children with “wheezy colds” – specifically rhonovirus infections – early in life were more likley to suffer from decreased lung function later in childhood.
Whether low lung function is a cause and/or effect of the wheezing illnesses is yet to be determined.
What can I do?
It’s tempting to simply say “a cold is just a cold.” This may be true, but we do know that frequent respiratory illnesses – like colds – in childhood are associated with asthma. If you child seems to suffer from “wheezy colds” it may be a good idea to take a precautionary step and talk to your pediatrician about asthma or, better yet, make an appointment to see an asthma specialist who can do a thorough evaluation and monitor your child’s lung function… and provide you with peace of mind!
Want more? Take the Childhood Asthma Screening Quiz
August 31, 2011
Asthma, Featured, News & Features, Take Control Initiative