Buy backpacks, exercise machines, athletic shoes, and more at Fogdog Sports. My baby's wheezing. I've heard asthma's on the rise. Resources My baby's wheezing. You may be alarmed if you hear your baby wheezing, but chances are it's not asthma.
Many young children wheeze when they have an upper respiratory infection or a cold.
If the wheezing happens frequently in the absence of a cold, you'll want to head to your pediatrician's office. In a child less than a year old, the airways are so small that they can make a wheezing sound while not having true asthma. Wheezing can be quite common in early childhood, and unless the attacks persist past age 3, most doctors say there's no cause for alarm. As in other types of allergies, allergens stimulate antibodies to produce histamine and other chemical mediators. Chemicals released by the antibodies swell the lung's lining and tighten the muscles of the airway, and they also start spewing out mucus.