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.

You can’t always prevent having asthma episodes in public, but you can handle the situation without losing your cool. The American Lung Association offers this help:

• Control asthma symptoms before they control you. Avoid triggers like cigarette smoke and work with your doctor to use the right medications in the right amounts. The more effectively you manage your asthma, the less likely it is that you’ll need an emergency puff during phys ed.
• Find a private place. Teens trying to hide their inhalers by ducking down while taking a puff often don’t get enough medicine. This makes it harder to keep asthma symptoms under control. If you feel uncomfortable whipping out your inhaler in front of others (and many teens do), grab some privacy wherever you can. Go into a bathroom or around a corner out of sight if you’d rather not have people watching. Tell your friends you’re heading outside for some air. It’s important to use your inhaler correctly, so if you can steal away for a few moments, go for it.
• Talk to your teachers about asthma. Most teachers are open to letting you slip out during class for an inhaler break. By working out a hand signal for emergencies, you can communicate your needs to the teacher without announcing it to the rest of the class. Hallways are often empty while class is in session — the perfect place for a quick, private puff.
• Some asthma management plans call for inhaler medication at set times during the day. Don’t put it off, even if you’re stuck in a public place. You’re less likely to attract attention if you take the medication when it will prevent asthma symptoms, instead of waiting until you need your inhaler to control an episode in progress.
• Enlist the help of your friends. Talk to them about why you use an inhaler. When they feel more comfortable about it, so will you.
• Just do it. Treating asthma symptoms with a rescue inhaler sometimes isn’t a choice — it’s a necessity. Occasionally, you may need your inhaler when around people you don’t know (or worse, in front of people you’re trying to impress). If this happens, the best thing to do is hold your head up and take the necessary steps to get your asthma symptoms under control. It really won’t be a big deal, unless you let it.

It’s true that whenever you do anything different or out of the ordinary, it may get noticed. But most of the time, what people really notice in these situations is your attitude. A confident attitude about your inhaler — or anything else that may set you apart, like a new haircut or an outfit that reflects your own style — is often what makes the biggest impression.

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 30th, 2007 at 11:04 am and is filed under Teens. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.