May is national Asthma Awareness Month
What is Asthma?
According to CDC asthma is a long term lung disease that mostly affects children but can affect adults as well. Asthma causes symptoms such as chest tightness, breathlessness, and wheezing. While asthma is a condition that does not go away you only have what’s considered an asthma attack when something begins to bother your lungs. Asthma is a condition that can be diagnosed by your child’s pediatrician.
Is there a cure?
There currently is no cure for asthma but it can be treated and maintained with medication and an action plan.
For more information on children and asthma head on over to Healthychildren.org
What’s an Action Plan?
An asthma action plan is a plan that you, your child, provider, and sometimes your child school comes up with to ensure that in case of an emergency your child is taken care of. The plan should include your name, emergency contact, your pediatricians contact information, the severity of you child’s asthma, and a list of things that may trigger an asthma attack.
If you would like to come up with an action plan or needs other resource for students check out the CDC.
Asthma and allergens
Many patient’s with Asthma can have complications when allergies are added to the mixed. It’s important to know about how allergens affect your child’s asthma as if they were to have a reaction to an allergen it may cause them to have trouble breathing. For more information head on over to the Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America.
