Asthma in Children 12 Years and Older: Care Instructions

How can you care for your child at home?

Action plan

• Make and follow an asthma action plan. It lists the medicines your child takes every day and will show you what to do if your child has an attack.
• Work with a doctor to make a plan if your child does not have one. It's important that your child take part in writing the plan.
• Tell adults at school that your child has asthma. Give them a copy of the action plan. They can help during an attack.

Medicines

• Your child may take a controller medicine every day. It keeps the airways from swelling. Your child should take this medicine as directed, even when they feel well.
• Your child will take quick-relief medicine for an asthma attack. It relaxes the airways to help your child breathe.
• Some children can use one inhaler for both daily asthma control and quick relief of symptoms. Your child's doctor will tell you if this is an option.
• If your doctor prescribed oral corticosteroids for your child to use during an attack, give them to your child as directed. They may take hours to work, but they may shorten the attack and help your child breathe better.

Check your child's breathing

• Check your child for asthma symptoms to know which step to follow in your child's action plan. Watch for things like being short of breath, having chest tightness, coughing, and wheezing. Also notice if symptoms wake your child up at night or if your child gets tired quickly during exercise.
• If your child has a peak flow meter, use it to check how well your child is breathing. This can help you predict when an asthma attack is going to occur. Then your child can take medicine to prevent the asthma attack or make it less severe.

Keep your child away from triggers

• Try to learn what triggers your child's asthma attacks, and avoid the triggers when you can. Common triggers include colds, smoke, air pollution, pollen, mold, pets with fur, cockroaches, stress, and cold, dry air.
• Keep your child away from smoke and the aerosol mist from vaping. Do not smoke or vape around your child or in your house, and avoid being around others who are smoking or vaping.
• If tests show that dust is a trigger for your child's asthma, try to control dust in your home.
• Talk to your child's doctor about whether to have your child tested for allergies.

Other care

• Have your child wash their hands often to prevent infections.
• Have your child drink plenty of fluids.
• Have your child stay up-to-date on recommended vaccines, such as the influenza, COVID-19, pneumococcal, and pertussis vaccines. Ask your doctor which vaccines are right for your child.

When should you call for help?

Call 911 anytime you think your child may need emergency care, and keep using your child's asthma action plan until help arrives. For example, call if:

• Your child has severe trouble breathing.

Call your doctor now or seek immediate medical care if:

• Your child has an asthma attack and does not get better after you use the action plan.
• Your child coughs up yellow, dark brown, or bloody mucus (sputum).

Watch closely for changes in your child's health, and be sure to contact your doctor if:

• Your child's wheezing and coughing get worse.
• Your child needs quick-relief medicine on more than 2 days a week (unless it is just for exercise).
• Your child has any new symptoms, such as a fever.