Viral Infections and Wheezing in Preschool Children

Wheezing is common in childhood, although only a small percentage of these children develop asthma. The child's wheezing phenotype and asthma predictive indices help predict the likelihood of a future asthma diagnosis. Viral infections are common in childhood with most wheezing episodes due to respiratory syncytial virus and rhinovirus. Many treatment options exist for wheezing children including both those who wheeze persistently and those who wheeze intermittently due to viral infections.