Thank you for your input. We are consulting with our daughter's physician but would also appreciate and information that you can provide relating to altitude and asthma. Usually, if asthma is well-controlled, spending time at higher elevations is not a significant problem. For example, here at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Colorado, we have routinely taken our pediatric severe asthma patients on one-day ski trips, which is around 10,000 feet, and we have not had troubles. In fact, if your child's asthma is due to dustmite allergy, she will likely improve.
Several things are important to keep in mind.
First, working with a physician with pediatric asthma expertise may be important to bring your daughter's asthma under as good control as possible before you travel. Our current understanding of asthma suggests that much can be done to reduce the severity and lability of asthma over several months. This may include a conditioning program to improve her tolerance of high altitude before travel. Second, treatment of asthma flares at high altitude should probably be more aggressive than usual, as airflow blockage can lead to severe difficulty faster. Routine peak flow monitoring during travel may be helpful.