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Asthma Coalition of LI Quarterly Meetings Schedule


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 June 13 2012
8:00 am - 9:15 am

 

Hilton Long Island
598 Broadhollow Road
Melville, NY

 

 

Contact Us:
Anne Little, MPH,AE-C
Director
631-265-3848, ext. 12
alittle@alany.org
 

For Parents

What is asthma?  Asthma is a chronic lung disease.  That means that your child may have it for most of his or her life.  Asthma is a condition that can cause breathing problems.  These problems come from swelling of the airways in the lungs.  Asthma makes the airways too small to let enough air in and out of the lungs.  Asthma can be treated so that your child can live a normal life. 

Asthma causes breathing problems because:

  • The muscles around the airways get tight and make the airways too small to let air in and out.
  • Mucus builds up in the airways of the lungs and clogs them (just like your nose gets clogged when you have a cold, lungs get clogged, too).
  • The airways of the lungs swell.
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One of the most important tools a child can have is an Asthma Action Plan.  The Asthma Action Plan is a form that your doctor fills out with instructions on when deciding how bad your child’s symptoms are and what actions should be taken.  Click on the SCHOOLS page of this website to find out how to get a free copy of this and other asthma-related materials.

There are many valuable tools that can help you manage your child’s asthma.

Open Airways for Schools® is a 6 week program (40 minutes per week), implemented during  the school day which helps children (ages 8-11)learn to manage their asthma.  Asthma 101 is a staff education program that can be delivered at your child’s school to help the faculty understand the signs and symptoms of asthma.
(for a complete description of these program click School Programs)

 Counting on You is a similar staff education program for child care centers and providers.(For Child Care Providers)

If your child is a Girl Scout, the Asthma Coalition has developed a Girl Scouts Asthma Awareness Patch Program.  You can download the Asthma Awareness Program book which contains patch activities for Girl Scouts of all age levels. Each age level contains objectives, activities complete with key points and materials needed, and Program Links to other Girl Scout awards. Click on the link to download your free copy in either English or Spanish. Asthma Awareness Patch Program English/Asthma Awareness Patch Program Spanish
 

There are many web resources available to parents of children with asthma.  (See the Parent’s page of this website for an extensive list of links)While the Asthma Coalition of Long Island has reviewed the links below for content and usefulness; it is important to remember that this information should not be used in place of your doctor.
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Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA) is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to eliminating suffering due to asthma and allergies through education, advocacy, community outreach,and research.

 

Keeping your house smoke-free is important when you have a child with asthma.  Check out the Tobacco Action Coalition of Long Island’s website:  www.breathefreely.org for more information.

Everyone with asthma needs a flu shot including their caretakers.  Check out the Centers for Disease Control’s website www.cdc.gov/flu to learn more about the flu and the American Lung Association’s website to locate a flu clinic near you www.lungusa.org.

Asthma triggers are specific things a child may react to which can cause an asthma episode.  It is important for you to know what triggers your child’s asthma what to do about them.
Click here for a Checklist of Asthma Triggers .