World Health Day is observed each year on April 7th to mark the founding of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1948. The day serves as a global platform to raise awareness of major health challenges and the efforts being made to address them.
In 2019, an estimated 262 million people worldwide were living with asthma, and 9.1 % of those affected were children aged 6 to 7,1 highlighting how early in life this chronic condition can begin.
What is World Health Day?
World Health Day raises awareness about key health concerns and encourages policies and efforts that improve healthcare access and quality. This is a global collaboration among governments, healthcare groups, and communities to improve health for all.
Every year, the WHO chooses a topic that reflects current and global health issues. The theme of 2025 is "Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures." This year's topic is pregnancy and early-life health interventions, emphasizing the significance of providing healthcare, education, and resources from infancy to guarantee a healthier future.
World Health Day 2025 theme: "Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures"
While the theme focuses on pregnancy and early life, this article will discuss the need for an early asthma diagnosis in children to ensure they grow up with fewer health complications.
What is asthma?2
Asthma is a chronic lung disease characterized by inflammation of the airways, which makes breathing difficult. It can affect people of all ages and usually starts in childhood. There is no cure, but simple treatments are available to help manage the symptoms. Asthma does not need to have a big influence on a person's life.
Asthma is characterized by a wide range of symptoms that might change over time. Common symptoms include:
- Wheezing
- Breathlessness
- Chest Tightness
- Coughing
Impact of asthma on children3
Asthma has a tremendous impact on a child's life. Symptoms can affect various aspects of life, such as decreased physical activity, missing school, anxiety, and stress. There are triggers which can cause asthma symptoms in children.
Image Credit: NObreath
The most prevalent causes include:
- Cigarette smoke
- Cold or flu
- Indoor and outdoor air pollution
- Allergies
- Cold, dry air
- Exercise
Every child is different, and so are their asthma triggers. Symptoms don’t always appear immediately; sometimes they can take hours to develop after exposure, making it challenging to pinpoint the exact cause. Once a trigger is identified, the best approach is to avoid it whenever possible.
The importance of early diagnosis and monitoring
Diagnosing asthma early is critical; many children go undetected or misdiagnosed, resulting in uncontrolled asthma and worsening symptoms over time.
Asthma is one of the top three causes of emergency hospital admissions in the United Kingdom, with 75 % of these admissions preventable by implementing simple interventions such as monthly asthma evaluations, proper inhaler technique, and a written asthma action plan.4
Asthma diagnosis in children
Traditional asthma tests like spirometry aren’t always practical for young children, as they may struggle to understand or perform the required breathing manoeuvres. As it’s non-invasive and easy to administer, fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) testing offers a useful alternative for supporting asthma diagnosis in children.
What is a FeNO test?
FeNO testing is a non-invasive method for detecting airway inflammation, which is often present in allergic asthma. While small amounts of nitric oxide are normally found in exhaled breath, levels increase when the airways are inflamed.
Devices like the NObreath® make testing quick and straightforward: the patient simply inhales following an on-screen countdown, then exhales into the device to receive an immediate FeNO result. This test offers direct insight into airway inflammation, supporting more accurate diagnoses and personalised treatment plans.
FeNO tests in children
In November 2024, the British Thoracic Society (BTS), the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) published a joint asthma guideline that recommended FeNO testing as the first-line test for diagnosing asthma in children.
According to the revised NICE/BTS/SIGN guidelines, children and young people (ages 5-16) with asthma-like symptoms can be diagnosed if their FeNO values are 35 ppb or above.5
Detecting airway inflammation early is key—it can help prevent severe asthma attacks and support better long-term outcomes.
The NObreath® FeNO device
The NObreath® device is designed to make FeNO testing easy, especially for children. It’s non-invasive, simple to operate, and features a bright, colourful design that appeals to younger users. The 10-second child mode and on-screen instructions, including engaging incentive animations, help ensure the test is performed correctly.
Fully compliant with BTS/NICE/SIGN, American Thoracic Society (ATS), and European Respiratory Society (ERS) guidelines, NObreath® offers a reliable way to assess airway inflammation, enabling healthcare professionals to make informed treatment decisions tailored to each child’s needs.
Image Credit: NObreath
Conclusion
Asthma can impair a child's physical health, education, and emotional well-being, but with early detection and proper management, children can enjoy healthy, active lives.
On World Health Day 2025, let us focus on early asthma detection and help children have healthy beginnings for bright futures.
References
- Global Asthma Network (2022). The Global Asthma Report 2022. (online) Global Asthma Network. Available at: https://globalasthmareport.org/burden/burden.php.
- WHO (2024). Asthma. (online) World Health Organization. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/asthma.
- Mayo Clinic. (2023). Childhood asthma: Make a plan to control attacks-Childhood asthma - Symptoms & causes - Mayo Clinic. (online) Available at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/childhoodasthma/symptoms-causes/syc-20351507 (Accessed 17 Jul. 2025).
- Jadav, E. (2023). Children and young people’s asthma fact sheet. (online) Transformation Partners in Health and Care. Available at: https://www.transformationpartners.nhs.uk/children-and-young-peoples-asthma-fact-sheet/.
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2024). Recommendations | Asthma: diagnosis, monitoring and chronic asthma management (BTS, NICE, SIGN) | Guidance | NICE. (online) NICE. Available at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng245/chapter/Recommendations.
About NObreath
The NObreath® is a FeNO device by Bedfont® Scientific Ltd. which can be used to measure airway inflammation for the management and diagnosis of asthma.
Our mission is to help improve asthma diagnosis & management of adults and children worldwide through FeNO measuring. Our purpose is to make FeNO measuring more accessible globally, with the creation of an effective yet cost-efficient FeNO device and equally low cost consumables.
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