What you need to know about childhood asthma

Treatment
Bernie Bolley, registered nurse and health initiatives coordinator at the Lung Association of Saskatchewan, lists three components of asthma management:

1. Education
The person with asthma should know about:
• their personal asthma triggers and how to avoid them
• their medications and how to take them

2. Environmental control
• All homes and cars should be smoke free
• Indoor humidity should be kept below 50 per cent
• The furnace filter should be cleaned regularly

3. Medication
The two main types of medications used to manage asthma are controllers and rescuers.

Controllers:
• help to control asthma over the long term
• must be taken regularly
• prevent and treat the swelling in the airways
• are slow-acting and have no immediate effects

Rescuers:
• are used only when needed as a rescue for fast relief of breathing problems
• relax the muscles that surround the airways
• usually come in blue inhaler devices
• should not be used regularly (more than three times a week) as regular, frequent use may actually worsen the asthma

For more information on asthma, visit the following websites:

Calgary Health Region
Information about asthma for both parents and children, including a “road map” section, which outlines what to do if you think your child may have asthma.

The Lung Association
Detailed information on various aspects of asthma.

The Asthma Association of Canada
Visit Dr. Airway and the Asthma Agent team.

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