When Your Child Has Asthma
When you care for a child with asthma, make sure that his or her medications and treatment tools are appropriate for the child's age. If the child is too young to manage his or her asthma, it's essential that you:
- Know which medications are long-term preventatives of asthma symptoms and which are to be given for quick relief of asthma flare-ups, so that you can use them at the right time.
- Know that if most of your child's medications are given through a nebulizer, your healthcare professional will tell you when the child can start using an inhaler with or without a spacer. This will reduce your asthma management workload.
- Make sure that other caregivers — babysitters, teachers, school health personnel, camp counselors, coaches, etc-understand which medications are preventatives and which are rescue, or quick relievers, and how the medications should be given.
If the child is old enough to take part in his or her care:
- Make sure your child knows the difference between preventative asthma medications and those that are used for quick relief of asthma symptoms.
- Read the instructions on how to use the various devices with your child and make sure that he or she is comfortable using them.
In This Section:
When Your Child Has Asthma
Make sure you're on top of your child's medications to prevent and manage symptoms.
School
When should you keep your child home and when should you send him/her to school?
Record of Important Information
An Asthma Emergency Contact List will help if you face an asthma attack.