Allergy Alphabet - Blogging A to Z day 2

It's day two of my blogging A to Z challenge and in the world of allergies....

...is for breathing.

There are many different things that can happen to Monkey when she has an allergic reaction - rashes, vomiting, tummy ache, swelling, allergy shiners, generally being upset, strange poo (sorry!) - but for me the most scary reactions are those which involve her breathing.

The main way in which her breathing is affected is that she gets a wheeze. She's had an inhaler since she was five months old. The first time I had to give it her was awful - we were both in a panic, she was fighting me and I was so upset. These days she is much better at taking it and just lets me get on with it, it's almost like she knows it will help her. I still hate giving it to her but I just have to tell myself it's horrible but less horrible than it could be if I didn't give it to her.

Monkey's breathing definitely gets worse if she eats one of her allergens but she also almost always has a slight wheeze and a bad cough at night. Everybody involved in caring for Monkey has said this sounds like asthma although she is still too young to be tested. Allergies, eczema and asthma are known to be linked so it wouldn't be unusual for Monkey to have all three. The question is does she have asthma as a symptom of her allergies, as a condition on its own or a combination of the two? At the moment nobody seems to know.