Free Your Child from Asthma : A Four-Week Plan to Eliminate Symptoms

by Rachelefsky, Gary, M.D.; Garrison, Patricia

• ISBN13: 9780071459860
• ISBN10: 0071459863
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-12-23
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill

Summary

Minimize your child's asthma symptoms, avoid unexpected attacks, and say good-bye to emergency room visits! In Free Your Child from Asthma, Dr. Gary Rachelefsky, a leading asthma specialist who has treated thousands of children over the past 30 years, explains why so many children with asthma aren't getting the care they need and how, in just four weeks, you can help put your child on the fast track to a symptom-free life.

Author Biography

Gary Rachelefsky, M.D. is clinical professor and co-director of the Allergy Clinic, and associate director of the Allergy/Immunology Training Program in the Department of Pediatrics at UCLA School of Medicine. He is also Director of the Respiratory and Allergic Disease Foundation and the Allergy Research Foundation.

Patricia Garrison is a health care writer who has worked actively on national campaigns for childhood asthma.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction: What's Wrong with Your Child's Asthma Care?	xiii
PART I UNDERSTANDING ASTHMA CARE AND TREATMENT
1 Assessing Current Treatment: Is Your Child Symptom-Free?	3	(14)
Raising Your Asthma IQ	6	(3)
Why Your Child—and You—Are in the Bind You're In	9	(1)
Common Asthma Missteps	10	(4)
How to Measure Progress: The Childhood Asthma Bill of Rights	14	(3)
2 Asthma Basics: What You Need to Know	17	(14)
Asthma Clues and Causes	18	(2)
What Is Happening in Your Child's Lungs?	20	(3)
Identifying Asthma Triggers	23	(5)
Conditions That Aggravate Asthma	28	(3)
3 An Asthma Diagnosis: What It Means...and What It Doesn't	31	(8)
The Importance of a Healthy Perspective	32	(2)
Debunking Common Myths About Asthma	34	(3)
Confronting Your Fears About Asthma	37	(2)
4 Figuring Out the Medication Morass	39	(24)
The Challenges of Treatment	40	(3)
The Long and Short of Asthma Medicines	43	(9)
Asthma Devices: The Best Route to Symptom Relief	52	(7)
The Steps in Asthma Treatment	59	(4)
5 What About Alternatives? The Pros and the Cons of Natural Treatments	63	(24)
Factors Other than Medication That Can Affect Treatment	64	(1)
Alternatives and Your Child	65	(6)
The Alternative Arsenal: Potentially Valuable Treatments	71	(2)
"Who Knows but (Probably) Harmless" Alternatives	73	(3)
Troubling Alternatives	76	(5)
The Placebo Effect	81	(1)
Proactive Asthma Care and Alternative Treatments	82	(5)
PART II TAKING CONTROL: A FOUR-WEEK, PROACTIVE ASTHMA CARE PROGRAM
6 Week One: The Doctor's Office Exam, Exposed	87	(22)
A Lesson in History: What Should Be Covered in the Initial Office Visit	89	(10)
Proactive Asthma Care: The Office Visit, Revisited	99	(3)
Week One at Home: The Start of a Journey	102	(7)
7 Week Two: Charting Progress and Eliminating Asthma Triggers	109	(16)
The Week Two Office Visit	110	(1)
Adhering to the Prescribed Treatment Plan	111	(2)
Monitoring Symptoms at Home	113	(2)
Addressing Asthma Triggers Within Your Control	115	(4)
Getting "Uncontrollable" Triggers Under Control	119	(4)
How Your Child Should Feel by the End of Week Two	123	(2)
8 Week Three: Improving Life and Symptoms Away from Home	125	(26)
Assembling Your Asthma Team	125	(2)
Creating an Asthma-Friendly Environment at School	127	(7)
An Action Plan for Managing Symptoms at School	134	(10)
Asthma on the Road	144	(2)
Asthma Overnighters: Tips for Sleepaway Camps and Sleepovers	146	(5)
9 Week Four: Living (Well) with Asthma and Looking to the Future	151	(16)
Quality of Care: Should You Change Physicians?	153	(1)
Giving Allergies a Shot: Immunotherapy	154	(3)
Checking for Other Undiagnosed Conditions	157	(1)
Raising an Empowered Patient	158	(3)
Enjoying a Symptom-Free Future	161	(6)
Concluding Remarks	167	(2)
Resources	169	(4)
Index	173