Make sure your child understands how and when to take asthma medications.
If your child has recently been diagnosed with asthma, you are probably wondering how to talk to them about the disease in a way that will help them to understand it and be able to explain it to others. Children who feel informed about their condition will feel empowered to fight it effectively and make arrangements with teachers and peers to make the asthma management process easier for them. Here are a few tips for talking to kids about asthma:
- Explain how lungs work. If your child is old enough to understand these concepts, talk to them about how lungs work in a simplified manner ("When you breathe in air, it goes into your lungs through a bunch of tubes"). That way, they will be better able to understand what it means when their lungs aren't working properly.
- Talk to them about what happens during an asthma attack. Again, you don't have to go into great scientific detail, but make sure they understand that when they breathe in their specific trigger, the tubes in their lungs get tight and block off air.
- Make sure they understand their medicine. It's very important to explain clearly to your child how often and in what circumstances they need to take each of their asthma medications. That way, they will feel more independent and able to deal with potential asthma issues while at school or at a friend's house. It's especially crucial for them to understand that they need to keep taking long-term medications even when they feel good, because not taking them could cause problems later.
If you have a child with asthma, a home air purifier is one way of controlling the potential triggers in your child's environment. Contact US Air Purifiers for help finding the best air purifier for your situation.