If you think your child has asthma, the first step is to visit your healthcare practitioner for tests and recommendations (and click here to sign up for the Asthma Care Plan from Keas™ a website that helps you develop plans to keep you and your family healthy and happy). But here are descriptions I consider a good guide to determine the severity level of your child’s asthma.
| Mild Asthma | Moderate Asthma | Severe Asthma | |
| Symptom frequency and need for short-acting inhaler | More than twice a week, but not daily | Daily | Throughout the day |
| Effects on lifestyle | Minor limitations: occasionally missing school or work, and sometimes missing out on desired activities including sleep | Somewhat limited: sometimes missing school or work, and sometimes missing out on desired activities including sleep | Major limitations: often missing school or work, and missing out on desired activities including sleep |
| Effects on sleep under age four | Awakened by their asthma once or twice a month | Awakened by their asthma three or four times a month | Awakened by their asthma at least once a week |
| Effects on sleep for older children | Awakened at night three or four times a month | Awakened at night more than once a week, but not every night | Often awakened nightly |
| Pulmonary function testing compared to a healthy child of the same age | At least 80% | 60-80% | Less than 60% |
If your child has no more than two asthma incidents a week, and asthma does not limit normal activities or wake your child up often, your child may have intermittent asthma, which can also benefit from asthma treatments and advice.