She started off with a running/stuffy nose. Then a cough. She's very busy so i noticed she started breathing heavy when normally she wouldn't be. Then at night she started coughing in her sleep. So yesterday she started wheezing at the end of her breathes. So iam a little worried is it just a virus or is this the beginning of asthma? I took her to the doctor this morning and everything sounded clear. The weezing comes and goes. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.

My daughter is 2 and has asthma triggered by colds and respiratory infections. Her first wheezing episode happened in January and the doctor told us that a lot of toddlers tend to wheeze when they have colds and it doesn't necessarily mean asthma. He gave us Albuterol anyway just in case, but we didn't use it at that point. We have since had two episodes in August and October where her colds caused serious wheezing and rapid, noisy breathing. We had to take her to the ER where she was given long breathing treatments and Prednisone. Now she is labelled as asthmatic and we have been to a specialist.
I would say that if your child's wheezing comes and goes and doesn't get serious, then it may not be asthma. Our specialist said that wheezing is a concern when it causes severe rapid breathing or "belly breathing." (My daughter's shoulders would go up and down as she labored to breathe and she was at about 60 respirations per minute when we took her to the ER. I think they say anything above 45 respirations per minute is cause for real concern.) I hope this reply was helpful to you. I am learning that a lot of doctors are too quick to prescribe Albuterol to wheezing toddlers when there is no urgent need. I am exploring alternative treatments! Good luck!

Thank you that was very helpful. When she was younger about 4 or 5 months old I had to take her to the ER cause she had that labored breathing. Her brother brings everything home from school. He had the flu. She didn't catch the flu but she did get a runny nose and a virus in her lungs. They had to put her on that machine. Then they gave me the inhaler. This is the first time sense then that i have heard any wheezing. So i am not going to panic about it being asthma. I am going to keep a close eye on it and see what happens. Thanks again Bonnie