Asthma Resources

Find out more about asthma from these helpful websites.

Clinicians/Asthma Counselors/Parents:

www.asthma.umich.edu

A group called Allies Against Asthma created this site. This group provides support to organizations that create programs to manage asthma in their areas. The goals of these programs include:

• Better access to and quality of medical services
• Education
• Family and community support
• Environmental and policy plans

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This easy to understand site sponsored by the American Medical Association includes sections on what to do if you have asthma and are pregnant, if your infant has asthma, or if you have asthma and are over age 55. It also has a helpful section on the correct use of certain medications, inhalers, and nebulizers.

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You can read about the Environmental Protection Agency's National Public Education and Prevention Plan on this site. This plan deals with asthma through environmental management. The goal of the outreach program is to raise public awareness of indoor environmental asthma triggers (e.g., secondhand smoke, dust mites, mold, pet dander, and cockroaches). It also promotes actions that can be taken to reduce children's exposure to them in homes, schools, and childcare settings.

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This website, created by the Allergy and Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics, provides a creative hometown approach to asthma and allergies. The site is built around a fictitious town called "Breatherville." By moving your cursor over different buildings in the town, you can find answers to many of your questions, concerns, and fears about asthma.

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This site offers a pediatrician's guide to your children's health and safety. While it includes all the usual background information on asthma, it also has links to allow you to create a personalized peak flow calendar, an asthma symptom diary, and a school management plan for your child. The "Market Center" also has books about asthma for sale.

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Sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, this site offers an excellent list of publications from different groups that address all kinds of asthma issues. Click on the link for the "Electronic Library" to see the articles.

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This site has two videos that cannot be found anywhere else online entitled "Health at Home: Controlling Asthma at Home" and "Making a Difference: Asthma Management in the School." You will need a program called QuickTime in order to view them. This is available free through a link provided on this site. Just click on the link and follow the instructions to download it.

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Rather than just describing asthma triggers, this site gives some manageable suggestions on what you can do to reduce your contact with them.

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This site was created by the Global Initiative for Asthma. If you click on the "GINA Document and Resources" tab, you will find a thorough guide ("GINA Patient Guide") in English and Spanish entitled "What You and Your Family Can Do About Asthma." You can print this guidebook and keep it handy in your home.

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This site links teachers, administrators, and other educational support professionals working with grades K-12 with resources and information on asthma. The site has links to educational materials, medical information, websites, and other resources useful for anyone who works in a school serving children and youth.

By using interactive videos and quizzes, this site takes a creative approach to educating kids about their asthma. If a window pops up saying that you need a "flash plug-in" to view the videos, you cannot view them currently. You can download the "flash plug-in" onto your computer by following the instructions on this site. Just click the "Install Now" button. This site also has an extensive medication chart for parents that explains the actions of different medications. Also check out a game for kids on identifying asthma triggers in the box labeled "Special Features."

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This site, sponsored by the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology, is great for younger children with asthma. It has an "All About Asthma" storybook available in English and Spanish for download and also includes coloring book pages of asthma superheroes that fight off the evil asthma triggers.