more children are being diagnosed with asthma than ever before

• www.healasthma.com

  Researchers say more children are being diagnosed with asthma than ever before. The reasons for the increase are unclear, but theories abound. Today, about 12 percent of children in the United States under age 18 have the chronic lung disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control.It is the third leading cause of hospitalization among children under age 15. And according to the American Lung Association, it now accounts for one in six of all pediatric emergency room visits .

  Should children with asthma be given allergy shots? That question was complicated last week after a highly publicized Johns Hopkins University study found no benefit from the shots in treating a group of youngsters with moderate to severe asthma.”Parents are wondering what to do and people are asking, Should I quit these allergy shots.

  Many children with asthma suffer because their disease is poorly controlled, causing sudden attacks and unplanned trips to the doctor’s office or emergency rooms each year, according to a recent national survey.The survey found that asthma interferes with many aspects of family life. Parents worry about allowing their kids to play at someone else’s house or to enjoy vigorous activities