Active with Asthma

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Active with Asthma

• A Curriculum for Level I Health

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Control Asthma!!

• Asthma is a chronic lung disease that can be
  controlled.
• People with asthma can live active, healthy lives
  if they take positive steps to manage or control
  their illness.
• The person with asthma should be in charge, NOT
  their disease.

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Chronic Illness

• An illness or disease that stays with you your
  whole life
• Something you dont outgrow
• It can be better at times and worse at times, but
  is still present even if you feel well
• It can flare up at any time
• Common examples
• Asthma - Cancer - Epilepsy
• Diabetes - Herpes, HIV

• How many of you know someone who has Asthma?

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Acute Illness

• An illness that comes on suddenly, is present for
  a while, and then goes away completely.
• Common examples
• Strep throat (a sore throat caused by strep
  bacteria)
• A cold (caused by a virus)
• Mononucleosis (caused by a virus)

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Asthma -- what is it?

• A lifelong (chronic) disease in which
• the lining of the lungs are swollen (inflamed)
• excess mucous is produced
• muscles around the airways constrict tightly
• These factors together can make breathing,
  exercising and/or sleeping difficult.

Activity Airway Demo Model
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Lungs when asthma is in good control
No swelling inside the airways
No tightening of muscles around airways
No mucous clogging airways
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Lungs when asthma is NOT in good control
Swelling inside the airways
Mucous clogging airways
Tightening of muscles around airways
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Poorly controlled asthma

• By Henry
• 5th grade

Optional Straw exercise (breathe through
cocktail straws to experience how it would feel
to have an asthma episode)
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Asthma is on the rise

• Asthma has increased dramatically over the last
  few decades.
• Over 13 of students in Minneapolis Public High
  Schools have asthma, and more might have asthma
  but not know it.
• People can die from their asthma if it is not
  well controlled.
• 3 twin cities students died of asthma in the
  2002-2003 school year. The vast majority of
  asthma deaths can be prevented!!

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Symptoms of asthma
What does the word symptom mean?
What are common asthma symptoms?

• Coughing
• Difficulty exercising (without coughing,
  significant shortness of breath, and taking
  longer than normal to recover)
• Difficulty sleeping or coughing at night
• Shortness of breath
• Wheezing (whistling sound in the chest)
• Itchy throat
• Tight chest

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What does wheezing sound like?

• A soft whistling sound in the chest, sometimes
  heard only with a stethescope.

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What makes asthma worse?

• Things that make asthma worse are sometimes
  called asthma triggers
• Smoke/smoking
• Dust/dust mites
• Animals with fur or feathers
• Pollen
• Cockroaches
• Changes in the weather or very cold or hot air
• Intense emotions / laughing or crying
• Exercise (if you dont take your medicine)
• Colds or viruses
• Air pollution / high ozone days
• Perfume or strong scents, chemicals/paint
• Mold

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Smoke A BIG Trigger

• The Facts
• Tobacco smoke is a major cause of asthma
  symptoms.
• People who breathe secondhand smoke are more
  likely to develop asthma.
• People who have asthma and who breathe
  secondhand smoke have more asthma attacks and the
  attacks can be more severe.

What do you do to protect people with asthma from
secondhand smoke?

• Choose not to smoke in your home and car and do
  not allow family and visitors to do so.
• Moving to another room or opening a window is
  not enough to protect yourself.
• Quit Smoking.

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Passing Gas can be Deadly.

• To begin move
• Click on movie icon below
• Click yes when Microsoft Office box appears
• Movie will play automatically
• When finished playing, click on X in upper right
  hand corner of the movie box.

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Controlling Asthma Case Study
In 1st hour math class your friend Mariah keeps
nodding off and is not getting her work done. She
tells you that shes been up during the night
lately from coughing and isnt getting enough
sleep. You remember from health class that night
coughing is a sign of asthma
Where should she go to get help?

• Mariah should find a
• Consistent asthma care provider
• Examples primary care physician, nurse
  practioner, pulmonologist, allergist, school
  based clinic, etc.
• see your school nurse for more information

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Asthma How can it be controlled?

• Having a primary health care provider is
  important even if you dont have a chronic
  condition
• Its important to choose and ask to see the same
  health care provider every time so you can get
  better care for you and your health issues
• Schedule regular well asthma check-ups with
  your asthma care provider (every 6 mo. if no
  symptoms or more often if symptoms).

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Long term control or controller medicine

• Follow the Rule of Twos to determine if a
  daily preventive controller medication is
  needed
• Do your asthma symptoms occur
• more than two times a month at night?
• more than two times a week during the day?
• Do you use more than two canisters of
  quick-relief medications per year?

Activity Discus Demonstrater
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Quick-relief medicine

• A person with asthma should carry a
  quick-relief inhaler with them at all times
• If you (or a friend with asthma) carry an inhaler
  or other medication with you, you need to
• bring written permission to the school health
  office that is signed by your consistent asthma
  care provider and your parent/guardian to get
  checked by the school nurse.
• keep a back-up in the health office if possible
  in case you forget it on a day you need it.

Activity Demonstration of Inhaler
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Running on Empty? Whats Left in Your Asthma
Inhaler?

• Counting the number of doses administered is the
  only accurate method.
• Discard the inhaler when you have used the number
  of doses indicated on the package labeling to
  prevent inhaling only propellant.
• Shaking or floating an inhaler or estimating the
  weight of the canisters are NOT an effective
  methods.
• Have a back-up inhaler available just in case.

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Asthma How can it be controlled?

• Use your medicines exactly as your doctor or
  nurse practitioner ordered them.
• Use a spacer with aerosol inhalers
• Dont stop your medicines unless you first check
  with your doctor or nurse practitioner
• Go to your clinic for a breathing test every year
  (spirometry or pulmonary function test)
• Warm up and stretch before exercise, and take
  pre-exercise medication as needed

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Controlling Asthma Practice Healthy Behaviors

• What are some healthy behaviors?
• Get enough sleep (9-10 hours a night)
• Eat right (5-9 servings of fruits/vegetables,
  whole grains, 2-3 of dairy/calcium, 2 of protein
  foods). Minimize sweets, chips, fried foods and
  other junk food.
• Exercise every day
• Use stress reduction techniques such as deep
  breathing (pursed lip breathing/ abdominal
  breathing)
• Dont smoke, drink or try drugs
• Wash hands often

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What exercises or sports can a person with
asthma do?

• All sports or exercise if they take care of
  themselves and take steps to control their
  asthma!
• Many famous athletes have found great success
  while managing their asthma

Can you name these athletes?
Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Track
Isiah Thomas -NBA
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Athletes Living with Asthma
Amy Van Dyken Swimming
Jerome The Bus Bettice, NFL
Greg Louganis, Diving
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Asthma Video

• Relieve the Squeeze video (12 minutes) A Steven
  Leeds Film --
• Starring Danny Devito and Nia Long

Discussion or Comments about the video?
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How to help someone who is having an asthma
episode

• One Saturday, you and your friend Troy are at the
  park playing a pick-up game of basketball. You
  notice that Troy seems slower and more winded. He
  mentions that his chest hurts and you can hear
  him wheezing. He keeps playing and you ask him
  if hes ok. He says Im ok man, dont worry
  about me. As he finishes speaking he starts to
  cough really hard. Youve seen him use a puffer
  in the past

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?
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How you can help Troy?

• Recognize that hes having an asthma episode.
• Stay calm and reassure him.
• Have him sit up and do some deep breathing --
  breathe slowly in through their nose and slowly
  out through pursed lips. (Optional activity
  have class can practice deep breathing exercise).
• Offer a glass of room temperature liquid
• Ask him if he has their quick relief inhaler or
  puffer.
• If at any point you are uncomfortable, call 911.

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How you can help

• Reasons to call 911
• Blue lips or nails
• Difficulty walking, talking or drinking
• Quick-relief inhaler or nebulizer is not
  available, not helping, or used too recently to
  repeat
• Neck, throat or chest retractions (looks like
  skin is sucking in when breathing)
• Nasal flaring (nose opens wide)
• Obvious distress
• Confusion or altered level of consciousness
• The person is getting worse fast

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How you can help

• If during school hours, help the person to the
  school health office or send someone to have them
  come to where you are to help.
• The school health office will give medication if
  available and can contact a parent or guardian,
  and call 911 if needed.
• Otherwise, notify another adult (e.g. a coach,
  teacher, parent, friend).
• Does every one know where the health office is?

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Asthma Resources

• Asthma Wizards http//www.asthmawizards.org
  
• Minnesota Asthma Coalition
  http//www.mnasthma.org/
• CDC- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Department of Health and Human Serviceshttp//www
  .cdc.gov/health/asthma.htm
• Hennepin County Medical Center
• http//www.hcmc.org/patients/patienteducation/asth
  ma/htm
• Whats Asthma All About? https//www.whatsasthma.
  org
• National Heart, Lung Blood Institute National
  Institutes of Health - Asthma Education
• http//www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Asthm
  a/Asthma_Treatments.html

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Thanks!

• Thank you and well see you in Health level II !!