Meantime, the first survey of parental attitudes to asthma in five countries - Italy, Germany, Spain, France, and the UK - was carried out this year by the European Federation of Asthma and Allergy Associations (EFA) with other bodies. Key findings include:

• 1 in 4 parents do not understand the purpose of 'controller' or preventative treatment (i.e. daily medication); there is greater dependence upon using reliever medication compared to 'controller'  or preventative treatments - 54% as opposed to 41%;
• 1 in 4 parents worry about possible long-term harmful effects from treatment. The main worry of parents concerns the impact of the outside home environment, e.g. tobacco smoke, perfumes, dust and animal dander, and being in a situation of not knowing what to do in case of an asthma attack;  three in 10 parents do not take their children's medication with them on family excursions and holidays. World Asthma Day 2000 will be on May 3.

According to Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin there is plenty of evidence that regular use if inhaled corticosteroids is the best option for reducing symptoms and asthma attacks in children with the classical form of persistent asthma. But they may perhaps be unnecessary in children who only get asthma when they have a respiratory virus infection but remain well between attacks. Where treatment is taken for several years there are concerns about possible long-term side effects such as stunting of growth, or affects on the bones, the adrenal glands, the skin or the lens of the eye. The best safeguard against side effects is that children receive the lowest dose of inhaled corticosteroid that they need to control their asthma. High doses are some times needed at first to control the symptoms, but the daily requirement can usually be reduced to a safer level for long-term use.