Wednesday, November 02, 2005

AANMA on the Danger of "Mild" Asthma

Just an important item to share from AANMA's Allergy and Asthma Today: In a small article on page 9 of the issue, there's a really, really urgent reminder.

"Mild Asthma Myths" reminds us all that 'The risk of severe asthma exacerbations seems to be unrelated to the symptom severity." So a child diagnosed with mild asthma is no less likely to suffer a SEVERE attack than a child diagnosed with severe, persistent asthma.

It's a wakeup call for me to always keep that MDI and spacer on hand, whether I'm traveling with Persistent Asthma Boy or Mild RAD Boy.

In a somewhat morbid footnote to the article, moms are invited to order a free copy of the booklet, "Mikey's Mom Didn't Know Asthma Could Kill" by calling AANMA. Is it just me, or is that seriously creepy?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, always keep in mind that asthma can kill. And don't be lured into thinking a child has "outgown" asthma. Our son's preschool teacher's son died at 35 from an asthma flare. Tragically, he believed he was asthma-free as an adult and went on a boating trip with friends, but no meds. They couldn't make it back to shore in time.

Aimee said...

OMG, what a terrible story!!

This is another reason the whole myth of "outgrowing" asthma pisses me off so much!

BTW, Chrysa -- good to see you on teh AP list!