Do I have asthma?

[5states]

I moved into a rented house, and within a short time started having coughing fits.  One was bad enough that my wife insisted I go to the ER.  After a couple of weeks, the severity of the fits subsided, but for the first time in my life I had asthma symptoms, wheezing and coughing.  When I was finally able to move out of that house, the wheezing stopped, and the coughing also stopped, except in two cases.  First, there'a a month or two ever fall when I cough, so some new seasonal allergy.  The thing that bothers me, though, is that I'm no longer capable of laughing hard, because if I do, it makes me cough.  I've put off seeing a doctor about this, because I doubt there's effective treatment.  Now I'm finally planning to make an appointment, but I'd like to know something about it before I talk to the doc.  Do I have asthma?

[SandiMacD]

The symptoms you describe could be well explained by the presence of asthma. It could also be a reactive airway exposed to something irritating it. When you see your doctor he/she can order tests to determine if your symptoms are related to asthma. There is no preparation. One is a methylcholine challenge test. Another is a Pulmonary Function Test.