As a young child's immune system (ability to fight infection) develops, he is less able to fight off colds and other illnesses. Reactive airways disease symptoms can occur because of airway swelling. A child's airways are small and narrow, making it easy for them to fill and get blocked with mucus. These factors make it hard for caregivers to know what is causing your child's symptoms, or the best way to treat them.
https://www.drugs.com/cg/reactive-airways-disease.html
Following are some of the causes of reactive airway disease: 1  Usually it is caused by a cold virus.  If respiratory tract becomes swollen and inflamed and excess secretion of mucus may trigger reactive airway disease. In turn, this results in production of septum.
http://allergies.ygoy.com/2011/02/07/what-is-reactive-airway-disease/
Finally, the terms “reactive airways” and “reactive airways disease” are now making their way from the clinical lexicon to the clinical literature. Two recent publications have used the term “reactive airway disease” (9, 10).
http://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1164/ajrccm.163.4.2005049
This is when the airways quickly overreact to triggers by narrowing or closing. If your child has severe symptoms of RAD, he is at a higher risk of ongoing wheezing and asthma. His risk of lung problems as an adult is also greater. If your child has asthma, he may need to use medicine often or all of the time.
https://www.drugs.com/cg/reactive-airways-disease.html
However, reactive airway disorder is different from asthma. In fact the symptoms of reactive airway disease come and go, while asthma symptoms are ongoing. It has been observed that nearly 30% of children suffering from this condition develop asthma in later stages of their lives. Following are some of the causes of reactive airway disease: Usually it is caused by a cold virus.
http://allergies.ygoy.com/2011/02/07/what-is-reactive-airway-disease/
Sometimes the terms reactive airway disease and asthma are used interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. Often, the term reactive airway disease is used when asthma is suspected, but not yet confirmed. Reactive airway disease in children is a general term that doesn't indicate a specific diagnosis. It may be used to describe a history of coughing, wheezing or shortness of breath triggered by infection. These signs and symptoms may or may not be caused by asthma.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/asthma/expert-answers/reactive-airway-disease/faq-20058010
Therefore, armed only with symptoms referable to the airway, or with a history of inhaler use, the doctor will present on rounds or write in the chart, in letters, or in discharge summaries that the patient has “reactive airways disease.” Unfortunately, this diagnosis often goes unchallenged.
http://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1164/ajrccm.163.4.2005049
Reactive Airways Disease. Reactive airways disease (RAD) is a term used to describe breathing problems in children up to 5 years old. It is common for infants and children to cough and wheeze when they have a cold.
https://www.drugs.com/cg/reactive-airways-disease.html
The problem with the term reactive airways or reactive airways disease is not just that they represent an annoyance to purists of terminology. The problem is that using the terms may provide physicians with a false sense of diagnosis security.
http://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1164/ajrccm.163.4.2005049
Patients are usually labeled with “reactive airways” if they have a history of cough, sputum production, wheeze, or dyspnea. Sometimes, however, the only prompt for a diagnosis of “reactive airways disease” is the possession by the patient of an inhaler of some sort. Most often, physicians who use the terms do not have pulmonary function test results for the patient.
http://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1164/ajrccm.163.4.2005049
symptoms of reactive airway disease in adults
Coughing, wheezing or shortness of breath triggered by infection are the symptoms of reactive airway disease in adults.