Why does asthma go undiagnosed in children?
Asthma usually goes undiagnosed for a number of reasons including the fact that there are other respiratory diseases that have overlapping symptoms. Another major factor is the fact that some children can stay free from the symptoms for long-periods before going through another asthma attack and also many kids only show subtle signs of the disease initially. Poor information about the true symptoms of asthma also reduces the chances of diagnosing it as most parents identify asthma with wheezing and this misconception usually makes them overlook other symptoms as just simple cold or just an infection in the chest. Chest congestion is another symptom that’s sometimes overlooked as an infection such as bronchitis. In infants asthma is all the more difficult to identify as wheezing may not be heard until they are at least 18 to 24 months old , so one must look for clues such as a rattling cough, rapid breathing and frequent chest colds. Small children may have difficulty in verbally expres
