April 2025
Asthma and allergies can affect your child’s quality of life, not to mention their health. Unfortunately, these health challenges are not uncommon in children.
Asthma is one of the most common chronic conditions in children, affecting over 4.6 million kids under age 18, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And allergies — another common health problem in kids — can increase your child’s risk of getting asthma.
The good news: While genetics and family history play a large role in who develops asthma and allergies, researchers are finding it’s possible to lower your child’s risk of developing them. These seven preventative measures can help.
Help Your Kids Maintain a Healthy Weight
Children who are overweight or obese have a greater risk of asthma, according to the American Lung Association.
The American Academy of Pediatrics offers several tips for parents and caregivers to help children make healthier choices around food and eating. These include making sure children get enough sleep and limiting screen time. Children who don’t get enough sleep are at an increased risk of obesity, and too much screen time can keep kids from getting the exercise they need to stay fit.
Quit Smoking
Parents who smoke put their children at an increased risk of developing asthma. Both maternal smoking and secondhand smoke during pregnancy are associated with a 30% increase in childhood asthma development.
Exposure to tobacco smoke during childhood is also responsible for the development of asthma and other respiratory illnesses in children, according to the American Academy of Asthma, Allergy & Immunology (AAAAI).
The American Lung Association (ALA) offers resources to help you quit smoking. Secondhand smoke can trigger an asthma attack in children — and can also cause children with asthma to have more severe and more frequent asthma attacks.
Get Vaccinated
Infections with the respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, during infancy may increase your child’s risk of developing asthma, according to a study published in The Lancet. Rhinoviruses — or the common cold — that cause bronchiolitis may increase their risk even more, according to a review in Pediatric Allergy and Immunology.
It’s not clear yet whether the RSV vaccine can prevent asthma. But it can prevent infection with RSV — the leading cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in children under age one, according to the CDC. To protect your baby from RSV, the CDC recommends either the pregnant mother gets an RSV vaccine or the infant gets an RSV antibody. Most infants will not need both.
Other childhood vaccines can help prevent illnesses that can cause wheezing and worsen asthma control and symptoms. This includes the pneumococcal, COVID-19, and flu vaccines. There’s no vaccine to avoid catching a cold. Your best defense against colds is good hygiene, such as washing your hands well and sneezing into your elbow instead of your hands.
Avoid Living Near Traffic Pollution
It’s not always possible to choose where you live. But if you’re looking to move and have some options, you may want to skip the cul-de-sac near a major highway. A study of 65,254 children in the greater Vancouver metropolitan area found that children of mothers who lived near highways during pregnancy had a 25% increased risk of new asthma onset by age six.
The AAAAI offers other tips for reducing exposure to air pollution, such as keeping car windows closed when stuck in traffic, avoiding traveling during rush hour (when possible), and taking back roads instead of highways.
Control Dust Mites
You don’t have to see dust for dust mites to cause a problem. According to the AAAAI, these microscopic creatures are a common trigger for asthma and allergy symptoms. Reducing exposure to dust mites early in life may help delay or prevent allergies or asthma. It’s part of improving indoor air quality to improve asthma and allergies.
To reduce dust mites in your home, use zippered “allergenimpermeable” covers for your child’s pillows and mattresses. Wash bedding in hot water weekly. If possible, remove carpeting and upholstered furniture from your infant’s bedroom. Keep indoor humidity below 50% — dust mites thrive in warm, humid environments.
Get a Pet
Getting a household pet may keep those two health issues at bay for children without asthma or allergies. It’s among the benefits of having a pet. Early exposure to cats and dogs, in particular, may prevent children from developing allergies and asthma, according to the AAAAI. Research also finds that children raised on farms may develop fewer allergies and asthma.
But if you or your children already have asthma or allergies, limiting exposure to pet allergens is a good way to control symptoms. Your doctor can help you decide what’s best for your child.
Breastfeed Your Infant
Breastfeeding strengthens your child’s immune system, which may help fight off lung infections, a common trigger of childhood asthma. Children who were breastfed for six months or more as infants had a 24% lower risk of developing asthma compared to children who were breastfed for less than six months. That’s according to a review of studies in ERJ Open Research.
The AAAAI recommends breastfeeding exclusively for the first four to six months of an infant’s life. This may help prevent atopic dermatitis or milk allergy.
