Reactive airway disease: Is it asthma?
My 2-year-old son was diagnosed with reactive airway disease. Is this just a fancy term for asthma?
- Linda / Nebraska
Mayo Clinic asthma and allergy specialist James Li, M.D., and colleagues answer select questions from readers.
Answer
Sometimes the terms "reactive airway disease" and "asthma" are used interchangeably. However, they're not necessarily the same thing.
Reactive airway disease is a general term that doesn't indicate a specific diagnosis. It may be used to describe a history of coughing, wheezing or shortness of breath of unknown cause. These signs and symptoms may or may not be caused by asthma.
Use of the term reactive airway disease in part reflects the difficulty in establishing a diagnosis of asthma in certain situations — such as during early childhood. Although it's possible for infants and toddlers to have asthma, tests to diagnose asthma generally aren't accurate before age 6.
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