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Adolescent Health website.
While adolescents are generally healthy, substance abuse and other risky
behaviors can be common problems. These health issues can have long-term
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Monthly Topic:
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory lung disease. It
is the most common long-term chronic disease in children. Over 539,000 or 7.9 percent of children in Texas currently
have asthma.
In 2013, about 1 in 2 children with asthma reported missing
at least 1 day of school each year because of asthma. In 2016, over 19,000 children aged 10-17 visited an
emergency department due to asthma. Managing or controlling
asthma can help prevent this from happening.
Asthma Management Goals:
Actions for
preventing and controlling asthma are below:
Prevention:
- Prevent recurring asthma attacks which reduces the need for
emergency department visits or hospitalizations;
- Prevent loss of lung function; and
- Provide optimal medications to prevent and control asthma with
minimal negative effects.
Control:
- Prevent chronic and troublesome symptoms;
- Reduce the frequency and need for short-acting medications for quick
relief of symptoms;
- Maintain normal lung function; and
- Maintain normal activity levels and attendance at school and work.
(Adapted from the
NHLBI NAEPP EPR-3 Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma)
People with controlled asthma can:
- Prevent on-going symptoms
- Reduce use of quick-relief medication
- Maintain breathing ability, maintain normal
activity levels.
They can also reduce
asthma attacks and prevent loss of lung function.
Asthma can be
managed by:
- Assessing asthma control
- Monitoring symptoms
- Taking medicines as directed
- Avoiding known asthma triggers
An asthma action
plan is a tool to help self-manage asthma. It is developed with the patient,
caregiver and doctor.
It provides guidance
on:
- How to use medicines
- Asthma triggers to avoid
- How to respond to worsening symptoms
- When to call the doctor
- When to seek emergency care
DSHS has sample asthma action-plans on their website. https://www.dshs.texas.gov/asthma/overview.aspx
As youth get older, they can take a bigger role in managing
their asthma. The American Lung Association has several videos to show youth
how to use their asthma medications https://www.lung.org/lung-health-and-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/asthma/patient-resources-and-videos/
To learn more about asthma, visit the new DSHS asthma
website. http://www.dshs.texas.gov/asthma
MCH believes that
youth and family input is vital to program success in the community. Please
send questions or comments to us!
For more
information, please contact us at:
Texas Department of State Health Services
Maternal & Child Health
PO Box 149347, Mail Code 1922
Austin, TX 78714-9347
(512) 776-7373: Phone
(512) 458-7658: Fax
TitleV@dshs.texas.gov
External links
to other sites are intended to be informational and do not have the endorsement
of the Texas Department of State Health Services. These external links may not
be accessible to persons with disabilities. For more information about Maternal
and Child Health or information regarding adolescent health in Texas, please
email TitleV@dshs.texas.gov or call (512) 776-7373.