A 5‑year‑old boy is brought to the paediatric clinic by his mother with a three‑day history of noisy breathing and cough. He has had two similar episodes in the past year, both triggered by upper respiratory tract infections, and required short courses of oral corticosteroids. His mother reports that he wakes at night coughing, and today he seems more breathless than usual, preferring to sit upright rather than lie down. He has no fever, and there is no history of choking or foreign‑body inhalation. A diagnosis of asthma is considered.