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When Tess Duke woke up in the night with a barking cough and difficulty breathing, her mother, Jane, didn?t panic. A registered nurse, she recognized the ?ark, ark, ark? cough of croup and tried to help her daughter with a bit of cold air and then some steam from the shower. But when the four-year-old started gasping and losing the colour in her face, Jane knew it was time to head to emergency. Fortunately, most children?s coughs don?t warrant a midnight visit to the ER. ?In the majority of cases, coughing is caused by an upper respiratory infection, otherwise known as the common cold,? says Norman Saunders, associate professor of paediatrics at the University of Toronto and co-editor of Caring for Kids: The Complete Canadian Guide to Children?s Health. So how do you know what?s trouble and what?s not" Listen up. The sound of your child?s cough ?and when you hear it?can clue you in to what?s causing it. Asthma

Sounds like a persistent, wheezy cough and shortness of breath that?s often worse at night, after exercise or exposure to cold air, smoke or dust mites.
Treat it with prescribed medication and avoiding identified asthma triggers. Diagnosed children can lead a fairly symptom-free life if they learn to control their asthma effectively, says Sheldon Spier, director of paediatric respiratory medicine at the University of Calgary. Always start the medication at the first cough or wheeze ? the later asthma meds are taken, the longer it takes to stop...