Asthma attack or not?

Question

My daughter went out this morning and when she came back she couldn't breathe too well, coughing and shallow breathing.. She said she was OK and it was cause she'd been running. What do you think?

Answer 1

Severity is the key to evaluating a single incident.  It may be true that she was running a little too hard and is having a little trouble catching her breath.

However if it is severe, if it worsens, or persists for longer than a few minutes, or if it reoccurs next time she runs, it is definitely time for a medical evaluation for asthma.

Some people suffer specifically from exercise-induced asthma.  At some times of the year, depending on air quality, it is worse than others.