Hi Arvind,

When a young child or infant has coughing, it's often a symptom of asthma. With asthma, chest x-rays generally are normal. That and the fact that your doctor has prescribed an asthma medication are a pretty good indication that the doctor does consider asthma the likely diagnosis. Even when doctors aren't entirely sure with such young kids, they'll often prescribe asthma medication. The risks of taking such meds are usually very low, while the risk of NOT treating asthma are much higher. The cough could escalate into a full-blown asthma attack, which if not treated could even be life-threateing in some instances.

Testing for asthma doesn't work very well in young children, so doctors just usually go ahead and treat "as if".

As far as the dose your doctor prescribed, I'm not sure. I couldn't find that much about this particular formulation of foradil/budesonide. In the US, these drugs are solid in combination as Symbicort and Symbicort is only recommended for kids age 12 years and older. The 200 strength 4 times a day sounds a bit high, but I don't know anything about your child's health or how this drug is normally used outside the US.

So, my advice is to raise your concerns with your doctor directly. You always have the right to ask questions until you understand the answers. You might also think about getting a second opinion from another health care professional.

Take care,

Kathi