My son is 2 1/2 and has illness induced asthma. He has had a rough year, been on and off of oxygen, used pulmicort, singular, xeopenex, albuteral, and way too many oral steroids. The pulmicort is a steroid but has less side effects then the oral steroids because it goes directly to the lungs instead of all the organs. Pulmicort is a preventative and should be used before an asthma attack.