Vea esta página en español How is asthma treated?
Learn your child’s early warning signs: - Avoid triggers
- Teach your child that it is okay to tell other adults about triggers or when he/she is having an attack
- Learn what medicines to take and how to take them
- Use your child’s stoplight plan given to you at your health care center
What about medicines?
There are 2 main types of asthma medicines: - Daily controller (preventative)
- Rescue (quick relief)
Daily controller medicines only work when taken as prescribed and are for long term control. Rescue medicines are used when your child has an asthma attack to relax the muscles in the breathing tubes so that air can move in and out easier. These are the medicines that work best for relieving coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. What is a peak flow meter?
A peak flow meter is a small device that measures how well air movies out of the airways. Changes in peak flow meter scores may tell you if the airways are narrowing, hours or days before your child begins to cough or wheeze. Use your stoplight plan to know what scores are in each zone. This way, you will know what medicines to give. What is the stoplight plan?
The stoplight plan contains three zones, one for each color on the stoplight. If your child uses a peak flow meter, then each color should have a range of scores and symptoms to go with it. The green zone is when your child’s asthma is under control. The yellow zone is when caution should be taken to avoid an attack. The red zone is the emergency zone and your child is having an attack. What is asthma?
• Disease of the airways in the lungs
• Long-term disease
• Not catching (not contagious)
• Tends to run in families
• Your child may go for weeks,months, or even years with no symptoms What is an attack?
An attack is also called a flare-up and an episode. This is when airways become smaller and make extra mucus making it hard to breathe. What are triggers?
Triggers are things that cause asthma attacks. General irritants - Tobacco smoke
- Spray deodorants, hair sprays, insect sprays, cleaning sprays
- Talcum powder, make-up,perfume
- Chalk dust, odors from markers
- Smog, pollen, and other air pollution
- Car and truck exhaust
- Changes in temperature,humidity, or air pressure
- Odors from cleaning fluids,paints, furniture polish, room fresheners
Allergic triggers - Dust mites
- Cats, dogs and other furry pets
- Mold and mildew
- Smoke from burning wood Others
- Colds, flu, sinus problems
- Exercise, some medicines
- Some medicines, some foods
Hints to avoid triggers - Do not smoke around your child
- Use air conditioning, not fans at home
- Use air conditioning in the car and keep windows closed
- Use unscented liquid or solid products, not sprays
- Use stove vent to get rid of cooking fumes
- Keep furry pets outdoors, never let them in child's bedroom
- Wash pets often (every week)
- Use poison bait or traps to control roaches
- Do not leave food or garbage out uncovered
- Keep him/her away from very cold, hot, or humid air
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