It’s a familiar scene for many parents. Your child is perfectly fine during the day; playing, laughing, running around and then suddenly, at night comes the coughing, the wheezing, the struggle to breathe.
In that moment, you act quickly. Maybe you use an inhaler or nebulizer that your doctor has suggested for quick relief. Your child feels relieved, everything settles and life goes back to normal.
But here’s the important question: Is your child’s asthma really under control? or is it just temporarily quiet?
Here’s the key point; asthma doesn’t start only during an attack. Many parents think asthma is only a problem during flare-ups. But in reality, asthma is a long-term condition where the airways remain sensitive and inflamed, even when your child feels fine. That’s why symptoms often return, especially during colds and infections, weather changes, exposure to dust or pollution
Emergency care helps in that moment, but it does not always address what’s happening inside the lungs every day.
Relief Is important, but it’s not enough. During an asthma attack, quick treatment is essential.
Medicines given through inhalers with spacers or nebulization (a fine mist of medicine breathed into the lungs) can rapidly open the airways and help your child breathe easier. These are lifesavers during symptoms. But they are only one part of the story.
The Problem with “Wait and Treat” is that when asthma care focuses only on emergencies, symptoms keep coming back, relief treatments are needed more often and risk of severe attacks increases. This cycle can be exhausting, for both the child and the parents.
A better approach for asthma management is control every day. Asthma care works best when it is proactive, not reactive, because between attacks, there is often silent swelling inside the airways. This is where controller medicines, especially inhaled corticosteroids, play an important role.
They work by reducing inflammation, making the airways less sensitive and preventing future attacks. Most importantly, they are meant to be used regularly, not just when symptoms appear.
Here’s a checklist of what parents can do to ensure ongoing asthma care for their children.
The take‑home message: asthma isn’t just about managing attacks, it’s about preventing them.
Because when asthma is controlled every day, your child can run, play, sleep peacefully and simply enjoy being a child.
Talk to your doctor, to know more about asthma, not just when things get worse, but to keep the disease under check.
Dr. Sainath Powar
MBBS., MD. (Paeds), DCH (Mum.), FCPS
Consulting Paediatrician & Paediattric Pulmonologist
Consulting Allergy, Asthma Specialist
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