How Does Asthma Make You Feel?

Post written by Thu Nguyen

Thu serves at Respiratory Health Association
as an Asthma Educator

“Scared.”       “Worried.”      “Like I can’t do anything.”

Leading a FAN class at a CPS school

Those are the most common responses I hear when I ask students about how having asthma makes them feel. It’s quite heartbreaking for me.  A child shouldn’t have to constantly worry about their chronic condition or feel incapable of doing things other children can do. While I have read so many research articles and facts about the dangers and importance of managing asthma, the students’ responses give me a tangible reason why I am spending a year serving as a Chicago Health Corps member.

As an asthma educator for Respiratory Health Association, I travel throughout the Chicagoland area to teach asthma education to students and adults. However, the best part of my day is coming to a school and teaching our Fight Asthma Now (FAN) class to asthmatic students.  In the FAN curriculum, we teach students about asthma warning signs, the respiratory system, asthma triggers, and proper medication administration. We stress the importance of carrying an inhaler at all times and using a spacer, a chamber that is added on to the inhaler to ease the delivery of the medication, whenever possible.

Student remembering her inhaler and spacer at school!

As I was leaving a school last week, a student chased after me to show me that she’s carrying her inhaler AND spacer at school. It overwhelms me with joy when students apply what I’ve taught them in FAN class. Our students walk out of FAN class feeling more comfortable and confident about managing their asthma, and I hope to continue accomplishing this goal throughout the year.

Learn more about asthma: http://www.lungchicago.org/asthma/