Asthma Center

Articles In This Section

• Una historia sobre el asma: Alexis (video)

  Puedes ser un deportista si sufres de asma? Alexis asegura que sí. Obtén más información acerca de su rutina saludable.

• Will Pet Hair on My Clothes Bother My Allergic Friends?

  You might not have allergies, but what if your friends do? Find out the answer to a reader's hairy question!

• Asthma: Alexis’ Story (Video)

  Asthma means a person has breathing problems. Find out how Alexis handles her asthma and still stays active.

• Asthma Center

  Asthma means breathing problems. Find out what's going on in the lungs and how to stay healthy, if you have it.

• Obtención de un estudio de la respiración, espirometría (video)

  ¿Qué es un estudio de la respiración? ¡Observe paso a paso cómo se realiza!

• Exámenes medicos: que se puede esperar (video)

  Estos videos muestran lo que ocurre en algunas de los examenes médicos más comunes.

• Getting a Spirometry Test (Video)

  A spirometry test is as easy as blowing out birthday candles. Watch how the test is done in this video for kids.

• Tu vivienda: Cómo constuirla a prueba de asma

  Las personas con asma tienen los que se denomina un problema crónico o continuo con sus vías respiratorias (los conductos para respirar localizados en los pulmones, los cuales pueden inflamarse y llenarse de mucosidades). Este problema se agrava en presencia de los agentes que provocan el asma o desencadenantes.

• Asthma Movie

  Take a sneak peak inside a person's lungs when asthma is making it hard to breathe.

• Kat’s Asthma Story

  Kat doesn't let her asthma get in the way of playing sports. Find out how she does it in this article for kids.

• Asthma Diary

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

• Asthma Action Plan

  When things are confusing, a plan really helps. Check out this asthma action plan, which you can print out and use to manage breathing trouble.

• ¿En qué se diferencian un nebulizador y un inhalador?

  Tú sabes que el medicamento para el asma te tiene que entrar en los pulmones para que te haga efecto, pero, ¿cómo se consigue que llegue hasta allí? Gracias a los inhaladores y los nebulizadores. Son dos tipos diferentes de aparatos que pueden hacer que tanto el medicamento - de rescate - o alivio inmediato como el medicamento - de control - o preventivo te lleguen a los pulmones. Tu médico te indicará cuál de estos dos tipos de aparatos es mejor para ti.

• ¿Qué es una crisis asmática?

  Cuando respiramos, el aire nos entra y nos sale de los pulmones a través de las vías respiratorias. Pero la gente con asma tiene un problema en una parte de las vías respiratorias, denominadas bronquios.

• ¿Qué es un medidor de flujo espiratorio máximo?

  Es fácil saber que un niño tiene asma cuando está teniendo una crisis asmática o "ataque de asma." Le costará respirar, y es posible que haga ruido al respirar y tenga tos. Sin embargo, en otros momentos parecerá que respira con normalidad.

• Fumar y el asma

  Fumar es una mala idea para cualquier persona, pero sobre todo para los niños que tienen asma. Fumar provoca tos y silbidos y dificulta la respiración -los mismos problemas que tienes durante una crisis asmática.

• What’s the Difference Between a Nebulizer and an Inhaler?

  People use inhalers and nebulizers to get asthma medicine into their lungs. Find out more in this article for kids.

• Who Can Use an Inhaler?

  Inhalers are often used to get asthma medicine into a person's lungs. How old do you need to be to use one? Find out in this article for kids.

• Traveling and Asthma

  Packing your bag for a trip? If you have asthma, you'll want to be prepared so breathing trouble doesn't spoil your fun. Find out more in this article for kids.

• Your House: How to Make It Asthma-Safe

  If you have asthma, you want to breathe easy at home. Find out how in this article for kids.

• Ozone, Air Quality, and Asthma

  Bad air can be bad news for someone with asthma. Find out more in this article for kids.

• School and Asthma

  If a kid has asthma, he or she needs to know how to handle it at school. Find out more in this article for kids.

• Can the Weather Affect My Asthma?

  Weather can affect a person's asthma. Find out how in this article for kids.

• Can Kids With Asthma Play Sports?

  Kids who have asthma can and do play sports. Find out how to do it safely in this article for kids.

• Dealing With Asthma Triggers

  Don't pull that asthma trigger! If you have asthma, certain things may cause you to cough and have trouble breathing. Find out more about asthma triggers in this article for kids.

• Word! Pollen

  Pollen is a fine powder produced by certain plants.

• Word! Dust Mites

  Dust mites are teeny, tiny bugs that live in household dust.

• Word! Animal Dander

  All warm-blooded animals shed tiny flakes from their skin, fur, or feathers. This is called dander.

• Word! Asthma Action Plan

  Lots of stuff goes more smoothly when you have a plan - and that includes dealing with asthma.

• Word! Triggers

  With asthma, a trigger is anything that brings on asthma symptoms, such as coughing, wheezing, and trouble breathing.

• Word! Sulfites

  Sulfites are food preservatives that can cause breathing difficulties in some people with asthma.

• Word! Spirometer

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

• What’s an Asthma Flare-Up?

  A kid who has asthma might have an asthma attack (or flare-up). Find out more in this article for kids.

• Word! Spacer

  A spacer makes it easier to use an inhaler.

• Word! Quick-Relief Medicines

  Quick-relief medicines are a type of asthma medicine that works quickly.

• Word! Retractions

  Retractions are a sign someone is working hard to breathe.

• Word! Lung Function Tests

  How well do your lungs function? In other words, how well are you breathing?

• Word! Histamine

  Histamine is a substance in the body that's released during an allergic reaction.

• Word! Exercise-Induced Asthma

  Some people have asthma symptoms (such as coughing, wheezing, or trouble breathing) only when they're doing sports or being active.

• Word! Cough

  A cough is a reflex that helps your body clear your throat and lungs.

• Word! Corticosteroids

  Controller medicine keeps the airways in the lungs open and clear so kids with asthma can breathe.

• Word! Long-Term Control Medicines

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

• Word! Bronchial Tubes

  These tubes, or airways, let air in and out of your lungs, so you can breathe.

• Word! Asthma Flare-Up

  When a person has a lot of trouble with wheezing, coughing, or shortness of breath, it's called an asthma flare-up, or attack.

• Word! Allergy-Triggered Asthma

  Most kids who have asthma also have some kind of allergy, too.

• Word! Allergen

  An allergen is a medical word for anything that causes an allergic reaction.

• Word! Airway Obstruction

  When something keeps the air from moving in and out of the airways in your lungs, it's called an airway obstruction.

• Word! Airways

  The airways in your lungs are like tubes or straws.

• Smoking and Asthma

  Smoking - or even breathing in secondhand smoke - can make asthma worse. Find out more in this article for kids.

• How Do Asthma Medicines Work?

  Kids who have asthma need to take medicine. But what kind of medicine do they take and what does it do? Let's find out.

• What’s an Asthma Action Plan?

  If you have asthma, you'll want to have an asthma action plan. Find out more in this article for kids.

• If I Have Asthma, Can I Keep My Pet?

  Uh-oh. Your pet might be making your asthma worse. Find out more in this article for kids.

• Do Allergies Cause Asthma?

  Kids who have allergies are more likely to have a breathing problem called asthma. Find out more in this article for kids.

• Handling an Asthma Flare-Up

  How can you prepare for an asthma flare-up? Find out in this article for kids.

• What’s a Peak Flow Meter?

  Kids who have asthma use peak flow meters to measure how well they are breathing. Find out more in this article for kids.

• Word! Wheeze

  A wheeze is the whistling sound air makes when your breathing tubes are narrowed.

• Word! Peak Flow Meter

  Lots of kids who have asthma use a special tool called a peak flow meter to measure how quickly they can push air out of their lungs.

• Word! Nebulizer

  A nebulizer may sound like a space gun, but you don't have to be on a spaceship to use it.

• Word! Inhaler

  An inhaler, also called a puffer, is a plastic tube that holds a container of medicine that comes out in a spray and is breathed into the lungs.

• Word! Bronchodilator

  A person with asthma may need to take a medication called a bronchodilator - something that dilates (a fancy word for opens) the airways, or bronchial tubes.

• Word! Bronchoconstriction

  Actually, bronchoconstriction affects the airways in a person's lungs.

• Word! Asthma

  Someone with asthma can have trouble breathing because of problems with the airways, the tubes that carry air into the lungs.

• Word! Allergy Shots and Immunotherapy

  Imagine if you were always sneezing because you were allergic to something.

• Asthma

  Asthma can cause a person's airways to get swollen and irritated, making it hard to breathe. Find out more in this article for kids.