Q: I have a 7 year old son who got pneumonia when he was 1.5 years old. Since then he has been suffering from coughs and chest congestion nearly every month. He has had a lots of antibiotics till date. He is not a very good eater and weighs only 18 kgs. Only recently, I came to know that this is asthma. I have tried allopathy, homeopathy and ayurvedic medicines but the problem still persists. My husband suffers from allergic rhinitis. Is my son's sickness inherited? Three months back, I started my son on Vidaylin-M. Will this improve his immune system? If his immunity is built up, will this sickness be cured? What sort of diet should I give to improve his immunity?

A:The diagnosis of asthma in children is usually made on clinical evaluation during an acute episode. Often it is difficult to make the diagnosis in the first 1-2 episodes. The disease cannot be cured in the true sense but the recurrence of acute episodes can be prevented / decreased in a select group by appropriate measures including drugs. Some children do grow out of the illness as they grow older. It is a hereditary or familial disease; but is not related to the allergic rhinitis of the father. The disease cannot be cured by boosting immunity by giving multivitamins or tonics like Vidaylin. There is no specific diets for these children to prevent attacks. You may avoid a specific food item if there is a proof that the episodes are precipitated by it.