Take Control: A guide for people with asthma

New Guidelines from the NHLBI’s National Asthma Education and Prevention Program use the latest research to help you take control of your asthma symptoms and reduce the effects of the disease on your life. Your goal should be to feel good, be active all day and sleep well at night. All patients with asthma should accept nothing less. If your asthma is in control, you should expect. . read more.

Recognizing asthma in your young child - making sure you can both breath easy.

A cough at night. A cold that doesn’t go away. A whistling sound when breathing out. Maybe even a late night trip to the hospital because that breathing didn’t seem quite right. If you’ve had any of this happen with your young child, you may be worried and wondering what’s going on. It could be your child has asthma, a serious and sometimes dangerous disease. The good news is that asthma can be controlled and your child can live a normal and active life. This brochure explains what you can do if you think your child might have asthma. . read more.

Early Signs of Asthma But Parents Delay Treatment

According to Doctor Jane Garbutt, MBChB, parents of young asthmatic children, age 2-10 accurately recognized the onset of an attack of asthma, at least 80% of the time. They noted an increase in respiratory symptoms such as cough, shortness of breath, and wheeze along with non-specific changes including change in behavior, vomiting, and dark circles under the eyes. The early warning signs were usually the same with each exacerbation of asthma. The use of objective monitoring, e.g. measuring lung function using a peak flow meter or keeping a symptom diary was reported less than 25% of the time. However, even when recognizing these early signs and symptoms of asthma, parents often delayed increasing the intensity of the asthma treatment, at times until the child was gasping for breath or using accessory muscles for breathing. . read more.