PARENTS
Asthma is a chronic lung disease that can be successfully controlled with proper care. Common symptoms include coughing, chest tightness, wheezing, and shortness of breath. Five steps people with asthma can take to help stay healthy and lead fully active lives:
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:
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.
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 smoking resources. Trigger resources and Asthma and the Home can help you learn ways to reduce the risk of your child becoming sick.
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.
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.
