Childhood asthma is very different from adult asthma. Both adultphysicians and pediatricians consider asthma a chronic inflammatorydisease. However, in children there is a complex interaction between theunderlying pathology of asthma and:· The genetic background of each child;· Environmental exposure (especially tobacco smoke);· The growing airways of infants and children;· The frequency of respiratory tract infections in childhood;· The response to medication.The starting point is to get the diagnosis right and to follow withthe simplest treatment regimen that will control symptoms.Epidemiological studies suggest that many children will outgrowtheir symptoms, so regularly reviewing the diagnosis and progress of thechild is appropriate.