The Asthma Center

Will my child outgrow his/her asthma?

Although it is commonly believed that children "outgrow" asthma, good evidence suggests that children with moderate to severe asthma that persists into adolescence will likely have symptoms as adults. Poorly controlled asthma in childhood can lead to permanent lung damage. Many children with less severe symptoms triggered by viral upper respiratory infections become asymptomatic as young adults when viral infections occur less frequently.

Children with mild asthma have a good chance of having complete remission from their symptoms as adults. The best way to help reduce future asthmatic symptoms is to keep asthma under tight control at all times since inadequately controlled childhood asthma has a tendency to become chronic or resurface in the adult years.