Summary of Be Prepared

Keep track of your child’s asthma symptoms. Your doctor will need to know this information so he or she can correctly prescribe medicine for your child.
Your child’s asthma severity diagnosis will tell you how to best care for your child’s asthma.
Your doctor may prescribe two different types of medicine:
- Quick Relief medicine is taken when your child starts having breathing problems.
- Controller medicine is taken every day to prevent asthma attacks
The Asthma Action Plan is a set of instructions your doctor will give you to tell you when your child should take his or her prescribed asthma medication. Following these instructions will help you keep your child’s asthma under control.
Corticosteroids are not harmful for your child and are NOT the same as the anabolic steroids, used by athletes to increase muscle tissue.
Some alternative medications may react negatively with your child’s asthma prescriptions. Always tell your doctor about the alternative therapy you are considering using.
Don’t use alternative therapies in place of quick-relief or controller medicines. Using only alternative medicines to treat your child’s asthma can make your child’s asthma worse.
Give a copy of your child’s Asthma Action Plan to anyone who spends a lot of time around your child. Doing this will help to control your child’s asthma even when you are not around.