Asthma among children in the U.S. has increased more than 90% in the past ten years. And many families are struggling to manage the symptoms.
As a result, the illness keeps children from attending school and participating in many of the activities they love to do. But experts say it doesn't have to be that way.
That's where an asthma action plan hopes to step in and help. It's called Allies Against Asthma. Doctors with the program say they have national guidelines to let parents know what can be done to help children with asthma, but that information is not often followed by clinicians and families.
Allies Against Asthma urge parents to look into these guidelines, and to work with their child's doctor to develop an asthma management plan, including written instructions from a doctor about things to do to better control the illness.
The program is designed to help not only parents, but teachers, school nurses, coaches, and anyone else who comes into contact with the child.
Overall, the idea behind Allies Against Asthma is to get everyone involved in managing a child's asthma.
For more information on how to manage a child's asthma, log onto rwjf.org.
