The research was comprised of two parts as participating students were asked to fill out a survey about experiences with possible symptoms of asthmatic allergy and suspected sufferers were then sent to Taipei City Hospitals for blood tests, continued the report.

Currently, only one thousand plus suspected cases have been blood-tested.

Of the 22,813 participating children, preliminary self-diagnosis resulted in 4,341 possible sufferers or one in every five students. The percentage is high according to the report. Asthma is the most prevalent chronic illness suffered by Taiwan children, said You Li-hui of the city-level health department.

She suggested a list of measures for parents to take to decrease children's exposure to possible irritants during the summer months including limiting children's consumption of cold foods and sweet foods, keeping homes ventilated and decreasing contact with stuffed toys.