Kids with Asthma, How Did It Start?

My older son was in high school when his started out of the blue. He was having problems breathing and feeling weak during track season. He was diagnosed with exercise induced asthma and also has some allergies. He managed very well with a maintenance allergy medication, nasal spray, and a maintenance inhaler. He was on all of these for a while all the time, but then sort of outgrew a lot of it so that he only did the regimen during cross country and track season. He always had a rescue inhaler as well, but rarely needed to use it. He just finished up college and ran all four years as an elite athlete in division 1. He does not have nearly as many issues as he did before and usually does not have issues with running now, but can run into problems if he has a head or chest cold.

Well, personally, I had my first asthma attack out of the blue at 22 years old. So it really can start at any time in a person's life. The most important thing is to figure out the exact triggers, because if you can avoid the triggers, you can minimize medications.

It could be exercise - but it would be strange to start a few days AFTER the event. My asthma is pretty immediate - almost immediately upon exposure to the trigger my asthma kicks in. Other people I know with exercise-induced asthma need their inhaler while exercising, not days afterwards as you describe for your daughter.

When you are thinking about the triggers, think of everything she was exposed to in the hour before the episode. As an example, my personal triggers are horses and pain relievers (aspirin, motrin, and naproxen) - weird combination I know. The trigger isn't necessarily something new - I had taken motrin for years as a pain reliever without an issue and then, bam, all of a sudden it started triggering asthma.

I was diagnosed with probable asthma after a bout of pneumonia at 45. I think I probably have had it longer, at least activity induced. Mine is characterized by a wet, but not productive cough. We are going to look at possibly having our 9 year old checked. She coughs a lot and feels like she is wheezing after she runs hard or even laughs hard. My mom had asthma as a kid and it has ebbed and flowed her entire life. Even moving to a new community just 40 miles away dramatically improved her asthma.

My kids were what they called 'asthmatic' as babies and young children. It started when they had a cold. Afterwards they would need puffers. We were told they would outgrow this, and they did.
On one occasion we had to go to the ER for coughing that was asthmatic.
It runs in my husband's family - his brother had full on asthma but he no longer uses a puffer, but as a kid he was hospitalized for a while because it was so bad.
My kids get what appears to be winded - out of breath - when they play hockey, etc. They don't need puffers but they take shorter shifts than most kids.

My aunt had it pretty badly but no one else in the family and no signs for either of my kids until the oldest was about 11. She was having trouble at soccer and I told her she was probably out of shape! But an inhaler really helped. Not connected, I had her tested for food intolerances a year or so later. The doctor said food issues can cause asthma. She does have some big intolerances like eggs. We cut those out and dairy and on the way to practice the other day, I reminded her to take her inhaler. She said she doesn't seem to need it much anymore! So who knows. Is it connected to food?... it could be a coincidence or something but also something to consider.