Health Library

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• Asthma: Exercise-Induced Asthma Factsheet (for Schools)

  What teachers and coaches should know about students with exercise-induced asthma (EIA).

• Teaching Your Child How to Swallow Pills

  Swallowing a pill is something that many of us take for granted. But just like any skill, learning to swallow a pill takes practice.

• School and Asthma

  Asthma flare-ups are the main reason kids with asthma miss school. But well-managed asthma is far less likely to result in a sick day.

• Asthma Factsheet (for Schools)

  What teachers should know about asthma, and how to help students prevent and deal with flare-ups.

• Asthma and Sports Factsheet (for Schools)

  What teachers and coaches need to know about student-athletes with asthma.

• How to Prevent Asthma Flare-Ups (Video)

  An asthma flare-up (or asthma attack) is when asthma symptoms get worse, making kids wheeze, cough, or be short of breath. An asthma flare-up can happen even when asthma is controlled. Asthma flare-ups can be handled, but it's even better if you can prevent them from happening.

• Secondhand Smoke

  Breathing in someone else's secondhand smoke is hazardous to our health. Find out what you can do about it.

• Smoking and Asthma

  Being a smoker is an obvious risk for kids and teens with asthma, but just being around people who smoke - and breathing in secondhand smoke - can cause problems, too.

• What Are Nebulizers and Inhalers?

  Find out how these asthma tools help kids take their medicines.

• What if Kids Don’t Take Their Asthma Medicine?

  One of the best ways to help kids manage asthma, besides avoiding triggers, is to make sure they take their medicine as prescribed.

• Allergy Shots

  Many kids battle allergies year-round, and some can't control their symptoms with medications. For them, allergy shots (or allergen immunotherapy) can help.

• Seasonal Allergies (Hay Fever)

  At various times of the year, pollen and mold spores trigger the cold-like symptoms associated with seasonal allergies. Most kids find relief through reduced exposure to allergens or with medicines.

• Asthma Action Plan

  Use this printable sheet to help reduce or prevent flare-ups and emergency department visits through day-to-day management of your child's asthma.

• Asthma Diary

  Use this weekly diary to record your child's asthma symptoms, peak flows, the amount of medicine taken.

• Definition: Inhaler

  Inhalers are portable handheld devices that deliver medication - in a form that the person breathes in - directly to the lungs, unlike a pill or liquid that's swallowed.

• Dealing With Triggers: Irritants

  If strong scents, smoke, and smog make your child's asthma or allergies worse, learn how to limit contact with these irritants.

• Definition: Long-Term Control Medicines

  Many people with asthma need to take medicine every day to control their asthma and prevent symptoms.

• Dealing With Triggers: Mold

  If mold makes your child's asthma or allergies worse, learn how to limit exposure to it.

• Definition: Lung Function Tests

  Lung (or pulmonary) function tests are a variety of tests that measure how well a person breathes.

• Dealing With Triggers: Pollen

  If pollen makes your child's asthma or allergies worse, learn how to limit exposure it.

• Definition: Nebulizer

  A nebulizer is an electrically powered machine that turns liquid medication into a mist so that it can be breathed directly into the lungs through a face mask or mouthpiece.

• Exercise-Induced Asthma

  Many kids with asthma have symptoms when they exercise. But with careful management, they usually can do anything their peers can do.

• Definition: Pollen

  Pollen is a fine powder produced by certain plants when they reproduce.

• Definition: Quick-Relief Medicines

  Quick-relief medicines are used by people with asthma to relieve asthma symptoms or to treat an asthma flare-up.

• Definition: Retractions

  Retractions are a sign that someone is working hard to breathe.

• Definition: Spacer

  People with asthma often use inhalers (also called puffers) to take their medications. A spacer (also sometimes called a holding chamber) is a device that makes using an inhaler easier and more effective.

• Definition: Spirometer

  A spirometer is an instrument that measures how well your child's lungs are working.

• Definition: Sulfites

  Sulfites are a kind of food preservative that can cause breathing difficulties in some people with asthma.

• Definition: Triggers

  During normal breathing, the airways to the lungs are fully open, allowing air to easily move in and out. In a person with asthma, the airways are inflamed and overly sensitive to certain things that wouldn't usually bother others. These are called triggers.

• Definition: Wheezing

  A wheeze is a high-pitched whistling sound made when air flows through narrowed airways in the lungs, usually when people breathe out.

• What’s a Peak Flow Meter?

  A peak flow meter is a portable handheld device used to measure how well a person can blow air out of the lungs.

• What’s an Asthma Action Plan?

  Find out how this written plan can help you care for your child with asthma.

• Dealing With Triggers: Cockroaches

  Find out how to limit exposure to cockroaches if they make your child's asthma or allergies worse.

• Dealing With Triggers: Dust Mites

  If dust mites make your child's asthma or allergies worse, here's how to limit exposure to them.

• Definition: Airway Obstruction

  When we breathe, air passes through our airways (the tubes that carry air into and out of the lungs) to get to our lungs.

• Definition: Allergen

  An allergen is a substance that's capable of producing an allergic reaction.

• Definition: Allergy-Triggered Asthma

  Allergy-triggered asthma is a type of asthma commonly seen in children.

• Definition: Animal Dander

  All warm-blooded animals shed tiny flakes from their skin called dander (it's like dandruff in humans, but it's much harder to see).

• Definition: Asthma

  Asthma is a chronic lung disorder that causes airways (the tubes that carry air into and out of the lungs) to become inflamed, which means that they swell and produce lots of thick mucus.

• Definition: Asthma Action Plan

  An asthma action plan is a set of individualized written instructions, designed with a doctor, that detail how a person with asthma should manage his or her asthma at home.

• Definition: Asthma Flare-Up

  When symptoms of asthma, such as wheezing, coughing, or shortness of breath, become more severe, more frequent, or both, it's known as an asthma flare-up.

• Definition: Bronchial Tubes

  When a person breathes, air taken in through the nose or mouth then goes into the trachea (windpipe). From there, it passes through the bronchial tubes, into the lungs, and finally back out again. People with asthma have bronchial tubes that are inflamed.

• Definition: Bronchoconstriction

  Along with inflammation of the airways, bronchoconstriction leads to symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath.

• Definition: Bronchodilator

  Bronchodilators are medications commonly used by people with asthma.

• Definition: Corticosteroids

  Corticosteroids are medications commonly used by people with asthma.

• Definition: Dust Mites

  Dust mites are microscopic bugs that live in household dust.

• Definition: Exercise-Induced Asthma

  Some people have exercise-induced asthma, which means that their asthma symptoms (such as coughing, wheezing, or shortness of breath) are triggered by exercise or physical activity.

• Definition: Histamine

  Histamine - a chemical found in some of the body's cells - causes many of the symptoms of allergies, such as a runny nose or sneezing.

• Definition: Immunoglobulin (IgE)

  Immunoglobulin E (IgE) is a type of protein in the body called an antibody.

• Definition: Immunotherapy

  Immunotherapy, also known as allergy shots, is a form of treatment used for certain allergies.