Health Library

Articles In This Section

• What’s an Asthma Action Plan?

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

• 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.

• 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.

• 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: Sulfites

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

• Definition: Spirometer

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

• 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: Retractions

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

• 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: Pollen

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

• 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.

• Definition: Lung Function Tests

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

• Definition: Long-Term Control Medicines

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

• 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.

• Definition: Immunotherapy

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

• 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: Immunoglobulin (IgE)

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

• 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: 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: Dust Mites

  Dust mites are microscopic bugs that live in household dust.

• Definition: Corticosteroids

  Corticosteroids are medications commonly used by people with asthma.

• Definition: Bronchodilator

  Bronchodilators are medications commonly used by people with asthma.

• Definition: Bronchoconstriction

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

• 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: 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: 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

  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: 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: Allergy-Triggered Asthma

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

• Definition: Allergen

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