Diagnosis

Asthma can usually be diagnosed from your symptoms and some simple tests.

A GP will probably be able to diagnose it, but they may refer you to a specialist if they're not sure.

Seeing a GP

The GP may ask:

They may suggest doing some tests to confirm if you have asthma.

These cannot always be done easily in young children, so your child may be given an asthma inhaler to see if it helps relieve their symptoms until they're old enough to have the tests.

Tests for asthma

The main tests used to help diagnose asthma are:

After you're diagnosed with asthma, you may also have a chest X-ray or allergy tests to see if your symptoms might be triggered by an allergy.

Asthma + Lung UK: diagnosing asthma

Page last reviewed: 19 April 2021
Next review due: 19 April 2024