My son was just diagnosed with exercise induced bronchospasm. is this the same as asthma?

Different types: Asthma is like a rainbow with aspects and elements that vary from one end of the spectrum to the other. They all share a common element which is chronic inflammation of the airway. Exercise induced means just that, that the trigger for the bronchospasm is the exercise. All asthma events have bronchospasm, triggered by different events; allergens, respiratory infections, anthing that irritates.

Probably: You'll get the best answer with an allergy evaluation. In true eib, there is no identifiable airway inflammation, and a thorough evaluation needs to be done to look for this. Controlling the airway inflammation early on is the best way to prevent more severe asthma from developing as he grows. Many kids who wheeze under age 3 don't develop asthma, but should be evaluated for their risk.

Subtype...: Exercise-induced asthma is a subtype is asthma whose trigger is exercise. Using an inhaler pre-exercise and having it available when he stops exercising is the main treatment. It is possible he will never develop any other symptoms of asthma and will only have exercise-induced asthma.