Teens who have asthma often feel that their condition sets them apart from the crowd, especially when they have to puff on a rescue inhaler in front of others. Let’s face it: if you’re in the middle of class or at a party, it’s hard to be suave about puffing medicine out of a piece of plastic.

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How many people are in your homeroom? 25? 30? Next time you’re sitting in class, take a good look around. Chances are, you’re not the only student with an inhaler. According to some estimates, about one in ten teens in the United States has asthma, just like you.

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You’ve been looking forward to this trip for months. The kids are excited. You’ve even checked the pollen forecast, and you don’t anticipate any problems. The rental looks perfect. You’ve reserved a four-wheel drive for this rugged adventure in the great outdoors. You get inside, take a deep breath, and start the car. Then it happens.

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Almost 5 million U.S. children have asthma, according to a 1998 report in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. The National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP, a project of the National Institutes of Health) recommends that children be directly involved in asthma management as soon as they’re ready. But when exactly is that?

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The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 17 million Americans have asthma. If you’re one of them, you may be wondering what comes next after an asthma diagnosis. In the best case scenario, you and your health care provider will form a partnership in order to design and execute an asthma management plan — the tool you need to lead a normal, active life.

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The relationship between asthma patient and health care provider should take the form of an active partnership, according to the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (a project of the National Institutes of Health). But your role as a caregiver is not so easily labeled. Does that mean your support isn’t needed? Not at all.

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Along with an asthma management plan, your health care provider will probably give you a written asthma action plan. What’s the difference? Your asthma management plan is the tool you use to control and prevent asthma episodes. If an asthma episode occurs, your asthma action plan will take over and help you get through an it safely.

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The National Institutes of Health (NIH) calls asthma one of the most underdiagnosed and undertreated health problems. Why? It’s a complex disease, and no simple blood test or x-ray can conclusively say that you have asthma. In their 1997 Expert Panel Report 2, the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP, a project of the NIH) identified these three key components of an asthma diagnosis: a detailed medical history, a physical examination, and a spirometry test.

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The mysterious healer lurks in the dark, cluttered back room of the herbal shop, watching you through a curtain of beads. She calls to you when you’re just about to leave, and mutters something about you no one else could possibly know. You leave the store with a small glass jar filled with a strange-smelling concoction — an exotic remedy that will surely heal whatever ails you.
That’s the movie version, anyway. In reality, complementary care (sometimes called alternative or integrative medicine) has gone mainstream. About one-third of Americans turn to complementary therapies such as traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, and herbal medicine, according to The New England Journal of Medicine. These therapies are called “complementary” because, in most cases, they are used in addition to — not instead of — treatments prescribed by medical doctors. Always talk to your doctor before trying any complementary therapy.

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