You’re more likely to develop asthma if it’s in your close family, such as your parents or brothers and sisters. This is partly down to genetics and partly down to the shared environment you live and grow up in.
Your child is much more likely to develop asthma if either parent has the condition – particularly if both parents have asthma. There’s slightly more chance of asthma being passed on by the mother than the father.
But having someone with asthma in your close family doesn’t mean you or your child will definitely get it. And people can get asthma without anyone in their family having it.
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Your stories
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