Summer months are Air Awareness Months, press play below to learn about how air quality effects children with Asthma.
For Parents & Adults
Whether you have asthma, or care for a child that does, AsthmaNow NH can provide the information and resources to help you and your family deal with the disease and live healthy active lives. Children and parents can recognize symptoms and triggers, complete an Asthma Treatment Plan and older children can learn how to decide when to use medication and when to get additional help. Both adults and children can have the ability to manage their asthma.
The tools and links below can help you manage asthma. Working with your health care provider is important. Creating a healthy environment in your home and working with your child's school is important in the management of asthma.
FOR ADULTS
Understanding Asthma
Diagnosis and Treatment Asthma Center of the Mayo Clinic
Quitting Tobacco & Smoke is a Trigger
Financing Asthma Care
Health insurance for adults and children with low income
For children under 19
Tel: 800-852-3345 or 603-271-4344
Medicaid for Employed Adults with Disabilities (MEAD)
A Medicaid program that allows people with a disability to work without jeopardizing their Medicaid eligibility.
Tel: 603-228-9680 or 800-826-3700
Medicare
Basic health insurance for people over 65 and over or with disabilities.
Tel: 603-271-4238
The Medicare Beneficiaries Savings Program
Assists low-income elderly or disabled individuals who are eligible for Medicare (available through the Social Security Administration) by paying for some or all of the associated costs of Medicare, specifically the Medicare Insurance Premiums and deductibles. The Medicare Beneficiaries Savings Program is also referred to as the Buy-In program.
Tel: 800-852-3388
The New Hampshire Health Plan
NHHP was established as the insurer of last resort, to provide comprehensive benefits options to NH residents who are declined coverage through the private market, have a pre-qualifying condition or are otherwise eligible.
http://www.nhhealthplan.org/
Tel: 800-578-3272
Resources for Managing Asthma
Information for Seniors
Living With Asthma - Special Concerns for Older Adults from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Asthma and Pregnancy
Most women with asthma do very well during pregnancy. Together, you and your doctor will determine the best ways to safely manage your asthma, including the weighing benefits of all medication you take versus the risks of those medications to both you and your unborn baby.
Asthma and Pregnancy - from the National Jewish Medical and Research Center
Tips to Remember - Asthma and Pregnancy from the American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology
FOR PARENTS
Diagnosing the precise cause of asthma is sometimes difficult because two or more causes may be present in one child. An allergist has specialized training and experience to determine if your child has asthma, what is causing it and develop a treatment plan.
It is important to understand what triggers your child's symptoms, and what (including medications) makes them go away. An understanding of your family history and environment (such as smoking or pets) is very useful. The two most common triggers of asthma in children are colds and allergens.
Infants may need extra attention during the diagnostic process because asthma symptoms can be caused by many things in this age group, some of which need very different therapies. When an infant has asthma symptoms, it is sometimes called reactive airway disease.
Whether you have asthma, or care for a child that does, AsthmaNow can provide the information and resources to help you and your family deal with the disease and live healthy active lives.
You can help your child control their asthma by:
Learning about Asthma (resources to help you and your child understand what asthma is and how it can be managed)
Reducing Triggers - things that can cause asthma (resources on ways to avoid asthma attacks)
Helping your child have a normal childhood (resources on school, exercise)
Getting support for you and your child (resources on where to find support groups)
Additional Resources
Asthma Resources in NH and Surrounding States
Asthma Resources for Children and Teens
Healthcare Providers and Insurance
Asthma can be managed but your child needs to be seen by a healthcare professional. If you don't have a healthcare provider, you can receive care on a sliding scale fee, based on income, from Community Health Centers (CHC). CHCs provide care regardless of medical status, ability to pay, culture or ethnicity. NH and the surrounding states, all offer CHCs as well as insurance programs for children up to age 18.
Financing Asthma Care (including Health Insurance for Children)
Triggers
Things that make your child's asthma worse are called triggers. Learn what causes your child's asthma by trying to see connections between symptoms and what happened before they started. Your child's health provider can also work with you and your child in helping to identify them. Once you know what might be causing it, it will be much easier to prevent. Common triggers include: smoke from wood, cigarettes; dust; mold; air pollution; perfumes; cleaning products; and pets (cats, dogs).
If you smoke, or someone in the home does, check out the Quitting Tobacco. Trigger resources and Asthma and the Home can help you learn ways to reduce the risk of your child becoming sick.
HELPING YOUR CHILD STAY ACTIVE AND SYMPTOM FREE: RESOURCES FOR SCHOOL and EXERCISE
Children with asthma can live normal, active lives. Exercise and physical activity are important. Even if the child experiences exercise-related asthma, there are ways to prevent and control it so your child can participate in a wide variety of activities, including competitive sports.
School
At School - from Allergy & Asthma Network/Mothers of Asthmatics: Provides information, tools to use from pre school through college, as well as how to interface with school officials. Offers "ask the doctor" and "ask the school nurse" section.
Managing Asthma and Allergies at School - from the National Jewish Medical & Research Center, a national leader in asthma care. Provides a wide array of information, including forms you can use with the school for your child's Asthma Action Plan.
Exercise
Exercise & Asthma from Allergy & Asthma Network/Mothers of Asthmatics
NH and Surrounding States Resources for Families
New Hampshire
Family Resources Connection of the NH State Library - Providing Information Resources for NH families. Call Toll-Free: 1-800-298-4321.
NH Family Voices - Run by parents having children with special health care needs, multiple disabilities and mental health conditions.
Maine
Maine Parent Federation
Toll-Free: 1-800-870-7746
Phone: 20-/623-2144
Massachusetts
Vermont
Vermont Parent Information Center
The Vermont Parent Information Center (VPIC) empowers parents, families, and children with special needs to become effective advocates to improve the child's education and quality of life. Call: 802-876-5315
Vermont 211 - Providing health and human services information and referral. Call: 2-1-1
Learning About Asthma
The more you, your child, and other family members understand what asthma is and how it can be managed, the better off your child will be. The resource links below offer information on what asthma is, how it is treated, and what you can do to help your child.
The Allergy Network and Mothers of Asthmatics - An extensive prize-winning website for families. Adults can take free online classes to learn about asthma. Be sure to check out Breatherville.
National Jewish Medical and Research Center - General information about allergies and asthma as well as advice for managing asthma. They also offer the LUNG LINE®, a way to talk or e-mail a specialized respiratory nurse if you have a question about asthma, allergies or other lung disease.
Allergy conditions - The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.