Asthma Health Center

Asthma in Children and Infants

Will my Child Outgrow Asthma?

So much is unknown about infant lung function and asthma. At this time, many experts believe that if an infant or toddler has three or more episodes of wheezing (usually due to respiratory viruses), the child has a 50/50 chance of developing asthma in his life. If the child has a strong family history of asthma, exposure to secondhand smoke, and other risk factors for asthma, the child has a greater chance of developing it. Asthma therapy will not reduce this risk.

In addition, once a person's airways become sensitive, they remain that way for life. However, about 50% of children experience a noticeable decrease in asthma symptoms by the time they become adolescents, therefore appearing to have "outgrown" their asthma. About half of these children will develop asthma symptoms again as adults. Unfortunately, there is no way to predict whose symptoms will decrease during adolescence and whose will return later in life.