Home  Asthma Questions and answers about asthma Prognosis
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| Can I be cured from my asthma? |
No, there is no total cure today. We do not know why we get asthma. Sometimes children with asthma can grow out of their symptoms, but it may recur again later in life. The allergy treatment using hyposensitisation (often called allergy vaccination) can in some cases nearly cure a patient with allergic asthma.
Many years of regular treatment with anti-inflammatory asthma medication seems to make the disease disappear in young people who have not had asthma for a long time.
People with asthma generally experience changes over time. There will be somewhat better periods and somewhat worse periods. |
| Is there a risk that my asthma will get worse with age? | Yes, poorly treated asthma usually gets worse with age. Modern asthma treatments have not been available long enough to provide clear evidence that asthma will not deteriorate as we grow older.
However, most asthma doctors think that regular, preventive asthma treatment can prevent your asthma from getting worse. |
| Can I outgrow my asthma? |
Outgrowing asthma depends on how old you were when it started and how severe it was at the time. Around half the children with mild asthma will have no symptoms by the time they reach their mid-teens. Relapses in adult age are however common. Children with more severe asthma are less likely to be free of symptoms by this age.
For adults who develop asthma, it can be associated with long-term exposure to specific factors such as chemicals or pollution. Most asthma can be well controlled by appropriate medication. |
| Is asthma a life-long disease? | | Asthma is a chronic disease. For some children, however, symptoms may only appear intermittently. Also, for some children, the symptoms of asthma may seem to disappear as they mature to adult life. |
| Is it worse getting asthma when you are old? |
Yes, asthma itself is usually more severe when you get it at an older age. What is often called asthma in elderly people may actually be chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This is a more serious disease than asthma, and has a worse prognosis.
An elderly person with a weak heart may also have more difficulty in dealing with an asthma attack than a younger person. |
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