Asthma treatment in children under age 5

The treatment goals for young children with asthma are to:

• Treat inflammation in the airways, most often with daily medicine, to prevent asthma attacks. This also is called long-term treatment.
• Use quick-relief medicine to treat asthma attacks.
• Stay away from or lessen the effect of asthma triggers.
• Help children stay as active as usual.

Your child's healthcare professional adjusts your child's long-term treatment over time. At first, the amount of medicine may be raised, also called stepped up. This is done until the asthma is under control for a time. Then the amount of medicine is lowered, also called stepped down. This common treatment plan is called the stepwise approach. The goal is to find the right balance of medicine. It involves taking the least amount of daily medicine possible to keep asthma under control. It also means needing as few quick-relief treatments for asthma attacks as possible.

If your child needs to use quick-relief medicine too often, the long-term treatment likely will be stepped up. Or another medicine may be added.

Medicine gets stepped up or down depending on the response to treatment and each child's overall growth and development. It also depends on seasonal changes or changes in activity levels.