Do lots of people get asthma, or is it unusual?

Asthma is common: Asthma is one of the most common chronic conditions in childhood, affecting 9% of the pediatric population. As many as 30% of children will have wheezing, not all of which is due to asthma. Asthma is often missed in children.

Asthma: More then 30 million people in usa alone have asthma. More that 6 million are children. It is one the most common and chronic illnesses. 5, 000 people die yearly from asthma attacks.

Difficult to answer: Asthma is certainly increasing in prevalence, as are allergic diseases in general. I would not classify asthma as being "unusual". Risk factors for developing asthma include family history of asthma, or personal history of eczema, food allergy, or seasonal allergies.

Common...: Asthma is actually quite common so lots of people have asthma.