1. Is my child asthmatic? Many children have wheezing, which often recurs and requires nebulizer treatment and, at times, water hookups. So what is the cause of your child’s wheezing, is it an allergic cough? Cough variant asthma or asthma? In fact, pediatric asthma is one of the common respiratory diseases in children, and according to a survey in some parts of China, the prevalence is 0.5%-2% in pediatric patients. Asthma can occur at any age, but most asthma patients begin to develop before the age of 5 years, and 70% of pediatric patients develop asthma before the age of 3 years. Infantile asthma is defined as asthma in children under 3 years of age. Infantile asthma needs to be considered if the child has the following characteristics: (1) ≥3 wheezing episodes; (2) rales predominantly in the expiratory phase with prolonged expiratory phase are heard in both lungs during an attack; (3) has an atopic constitution, such as infantile eczema and allergic rhinitis; and (4) has a history of allergies such as asthma in first-degree relatives. Asthma can be diagnosed if these conditions are present. Childhood asthma is a child over 3 years old such as asthma, and asthma can be considered if these are present: (1) recurrent episodes of wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness or cough, mostly related to exposure to allergens, cold air, physical or chemical stimuli, viral upper and lower respiratory tract infections, and exercise; (2) scattered or diffuse expiratory phase dominated croup can be heard in both lungs during an attack, with prolonged expiratory phase; (3) bronchodilators (3) bronchodilators have significant efficacy. 2. What is cough variant asthma? Cough variant asthma, also called atypical asthma, asthma without croup, is a specific type of asthma in which chronic cough is the main or only clinical manifestation. Consider this disease if your child has a cough with the following characteristics (1) Persistent cough >4 weeks, often with nocturnal and/or early morning attacks, with a predominantly dry cough. (2) No clinical signs of infection, or ineffective after longer antibiotic treatment. (3) Diagnostic treatment with anti-asthmatic drugs is effective. 3. What is the difference between cough variant asthma and allergic cough? In the past these two diseases were not distinguished, but only in recent years have they been differentiated, even by many doctors. Consider allergic cough if your child has these conditions: (1) a small cough lasting >4 weeks, often attacking or worsening at night and/or early in the morning, with a predominantly dry cough, (2) a child’s cough often occurs at times of alternating heat and cold or seasonal changes, (3) a recurrent cough that is more violent and paroxysmal, and (4) no clinical signs of infection or ineffective after a longer period of antibiotic treatment. Cough variant asthma is an all typical type of asthma and is associated with allergic cough. Some allergic coughs can be transformed into variant asthma, and cough variant asthma can become typical asthma. 4. Do allergic children need to be tested for allergens? There is a relationship between allergic diseases and allergens. Exposure to allergens can induce allergic diseases, for example, some children’s exposure to pollen in spring can induce asthma, and some children’s exposure to seafood can induce asthma after eating seafood. Therefore, it is helpful for patients with allergic diseases to be able to identify the allergens to prevent the disease. But the child’s constitution is changeable, and the reaction to allergens is also changeable. We often encounter children who are found to be allergic to a certain substance, and after some time they are not allergic to this substance, so allergens are only a reference for children, and parents who are not in a position to do so are perfectly fine, and children who are too young are not the main advocates of checking allergens, especially children over three years old. 5. Do I need to avoid eating if my child has allergic diseases? Whether a child with an allergic disease needs to avoid eating depends on the specific situation, many doctors will give others a whole bunch of things you can’t eat, which is very bad for the child’s health. The first dietary guidance for children with allergies is to not eat foods that have been clearly identified as causing their allergies, which means that if a child is allergic to eggs, then they definitely should not eat eggs; conversely, if they have never had an allergy in the past due to eating eggs, even if they are tested to be allergic to eggs, then they can still eat them without worry. If a child eats sea fish that can trigger asthma, he or she should not eat this fish in the future, even if the allergen is not detected. The allergen check is just a reference. Since allergies are often related to immune system dysfunction, and good nutrition is the basic condition for maintaining normal immune function, some people maintain a so-called light diet all year round for fear of allergy recurrence, not daring to eat fish and meat, which interferes with life and affects the body’s immunity, but makes allergies recur, which is not worth the loss. If some allergic children have not yet clarified which foods they are allergic to and have frequent attacks of allergic diseases, the second principle of dietary guidance is to have a light diet, eating less of those foods that can easily cause allergies, such as seafood like salted fish, shrimp, etc., and eating less oily food and more stimulating food, such as hot pot, etc.