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• be your child's champion
• managing asthma attacks
• administering medicine
• avoiding triggers
• lifestyle changes
• tracking your progress

be your child's champion

Acknowledge your emotions

A child's asthma diagnosis can leave you with many feelings:

• Fear
  "What if they stop breathing?"
  "What if I'm not there next time?"
• Lack of control
  "How do I know when the next attack is going to come?"
  "Do we need to give up our dog?"
  "Can we plan a vacation?"
• Overwhelmed
  "There's so much to learn and so many family habits to change."
  "How do I keep up with medications, healthcare provider appointments, and everything else in my life?"

These feelings are natural, but they need not take over your life. Once you've acknowledged them, it's time to start learning, finding support, and taking charge...

Empower yourself with information

Knowledge is power, especially when it comes to your child's health.

• Begin learning the basics starting about what is asthma. Then learn about the different types of asthma. Finally, learn about different symptoms, paying attention to what triggers may be causing these symptoms in your child.
• Talk to your healthcare provider. Talk to them about the medicine they're prescribing, how it works, what the short- and long-term side effects are, and how it's used. Ask them about controller medicines to prevent attacks, and discuss rescue medicines that can alleviate an asthma attack or symptoms.
• Be selective in the healthcare provider who will care for your child's asthma. Sometimes a specialist may be the best choice, such as a pediatric pulmonologist or allergist.
• Be an informed consumer when choosing the medicines for your child's asthma by thoroughly exploring alternatives with your healthcare provider. Make sure you fully understand the differences that might exist in safety, tolerability, effectiveness, and cost.
• Talk to your healthcare professional about any side effects your child might be experiencing.

Gain support from your peers

Starting on the day your child is diagnosed with asthma, you're bound to have many questions, challenges and fears. Realizing that you aren't alone can be the first step to helping you and your child learn to live with asthma. In fact, according to the American Lung Association, almost 7 million children in the U.S. have asthma.

• Many large hospitals offer support groups for caregivers of children with asthma.
• There are also independently organized groups.
• You can start by hearing how Mary Joe and her son, Nicholas, are managing his asthma.

Take control

Now that you know what asthma is and are tapped into a supportive community of parents, it's time to take control of the situation.

• Talk with your child about their asthma to make sure they understand what it is. Make sure they understand the need to take their controller medicine if prescribed by their healthcare provider. Most importantly, use this time to listen to your child so that they can help you identify their symptoms and triggers to avoid any attacks.
• Keep a watchful eye and an open dialog with your child about any side effects they may be experiencing from their asthma medicine. It is often difficult for children to express how they feel-especially younger children. If you notice any side effects ask your healthcare provider about other options for medicines.
• Begin talking about lifestyle changes you need to make as a family to eliminate triggers for your child.
• Develop an Asthma Action Plan with your healthcare provider to be prepared in case of an attack.
• Create a Caregiver Checklist to give to school nurses, teachers, camp counselors, relatives, friends, sitters, or anyone else who cares for your child when you are not with them. They need to know about your child's asthma and what to do in an emergency.
• Advocate for an asthma-friendly school or daycare facility.