* Asthma is present in about 10% of children.

* Asthma in children is diagnosed when your child has recurring episodes of wheezing that are relieved by rescue medicine such as albuterol

* Asthma in children is treated with the same medicines and treatment plans as in adults with adjustments for their size and metabolism.

Children have a lot more wheezing than adults.

A simple upper respiratory infection or common cold causes many children to wheeze.

But, a single episode of wheezing while ill doesn’t mean a child has asthma.  A key feature of asthma is the recurrence of wheezing, along with its reversibility by a bronchodilator/inhaler like albuterol.

How many children who wheeze when sick go on to have recurrent wheezing and asthma?  We don’t know for sure.  But we do know that infection with the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) early in childhood is associated with the appearance of asthma.

The bottom line: asthma in children is a very big problem.

In 2016, about 6 million children were diagnosed with asthma.  That makes it  the most common chronic disease of childhood.

Untreated, asthma in children threatens them with death, emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and school absenteeism.

Childhood asthma is treated with the same medications and strategies as in adults. Since they are kids there are adjustments in medication dosage, and some differences in severity classification.

Unfortunately, like adults, children are often not treated according to the National standard of care.

Asthmaniac is designed to serve them as well.

At Asthmaniac, pediatric expertise is always on-deck to make sure our approach to children with asthma is aligned with National standards.

#asthmacontrolnow
#telemedicineasthmacare 
#backpocketasthmadoc
#asthmaactionplan
#asthmacontroltest
#asthmacontroller
#rescueinhaler
#asthmacovid19
#childrenandasthma
#eprescription
#easthma
#peakexpiratoryflow
#peakflowmeter
#asthmaniac

* Asthma is a chronic disease that places you at higher risk of serious illness with COVID19 infection.

* Keeping your asthma well controlled will give you the best protection against serious COVID19 illness.

* Controlling your COVID19 exposure should be a high priority until we have a vaccine.

Does Asthma make you more vulnerable to COVID19?

Patients with chronic disease including chronic lung disease are having much more trouble with COVID19.

Many are dying when they become infected.

To be sure, having advanced age and asthma is a very concerning combination, but even young people with asthma should be concerned.

This is the time to get serious about asthma!

Your best defense is a strong offense.

Compared to the lungs of a person without asthma, your asthma lungs experience inflammation much more easily.

This tendency toward inflammation can be controlled by inhaled steroids and in some cases, new immune modulators.

Keeping a lid on this baseline inflammation should be our top priority all the time but especially during this COVID19 pandemic.

How does the COVID19 virus interact with your asthma lungs?

When it enters your body, the COVID19 virus attaches to the lining in the back of your throat.

From there, it moves to the airways of your lungs (bronchi and bronchioles). 

Once there, virus particles attach to and hijack the manufacturing processes of airway cells.  The result is that these cells pump out a continuous stream of virus particles.

When your immune system spots airway cells that have been taken over by the virus, it attacks them with a vengeance!  The result is inflammation.  

If your airways are already experiencing out-of-control inflammation, this is a disaster!

The addition of virus invasion and immune attack blows holes in tiny blood vessels, causing the lungs to fill with blood.   Airflow is blocked and then you have a life-threatening inability to breathe.

The amount of virus matters.

The more virus particles that get into your mouth, nose or eyes, the more likely you will develop a severe infection with a dangerous inflammatory reaction.

Look, it is virtually impossible for every person on the planet to completely avoid COVID19.

But, getting the smallest amount of exposure at any time should be your goal.

Washing your hands is a basic and effective way reduced the amount of virus you are handling.  Here’s how to wash!

Since virus are carried the the air, it is smart to keep a distance from people who might be carrying virus.  This includes people that aren’t having fever or cough at all!

And,

Mask UP!

Wear a face covering.

I know, this is so hard to get your mind around – like, for how long are we gonna have to do this?

Nobody can say just yet.

We just have to focus on each day, doing everything we can to keep those lungs in good working condition.

Down the road, we can hang up these designer masks, and go to crowded concerts, and, well, get back to ‘normal’.

In the mean time, let’s keep asthma under control!

Complete the subscription form on the left if you’d like to get an email when I post a new podcast and blog entry.

Thanks for learning more about asthma!

#asthmacontrolnow
#telemedicineasthmacare
#backpocketasthmadoc
#asthmaactionplan
#asthmacontroltest
#asthmacontroller
#rescueinhaler
#asthmacovid19
#childrenandasthma
#eprescription
#easthma
#peakexpiratoryflow
#peakflowmeter
#asthmaniac

What is Asthmaniac and why do you need it?  I’m Dr. Tim Ryschon and I have an asthma solution for you.

* Asthmaniac.com is my online asthma clinic 

* Asthmaniac is designed to be affordable, convenient, and reliable.

* Asthmaniac follows national quality standards developed at NIH

* Asthmaniac uses your phone to make your care convenient and engaging

What is Asthmaniac?

Asthmaniac is the name of my podcast which is also the name of my telemedicine clinic.

My clinic, Asthmaniac.com, is 100% online.  Using this online method,  I can deliver phone and video-based encounters that focus on just your asthma.

These visits are designed to achieve stabilization of your asthma so you can avoid asthma attacks  and enjoy worry-free breathing for an active life.

.My strategy depends on making you the expert of your asthma. 

This will allow you to react quickly to changes in your breathing.  

It will also equip you to tell me how your asthma action plan is working, since you will really understand it.

What Makes Asthmaniac Different from a Traditional Clinic?

• A 100% focus on asthma control.
• It is based on National Standards and the most modern methods of asthma control.
• It uses 100% online phone and video visits.
• Doctor visits are priced at $50 each and you can pay online – no insurance needed.
• It uses 100% electronic medication prescriptions – sent direct to your pharmacy.
• It uses proven online symptom assessment.
• It tracks lung function by Peak Expiratory Flow.
• It delivers follow-up visits to assure effective control.
• It gives you a usable and continuously updated Asthma Action Plan.

Why focus on Asthma?

There are many health problems facing all of us.  I have spent 30 years learning about and treating them.  

A few of these disorders stand out as being controllable.

Asthma is one of those.  Asthma control has been the topic of extensive research which has led to the development of clearly defined treatment directions .

These guidelines for doctors to follow have been refined since first released in 1991 with updates in 2002 and 2007.

Despite these clear directions, asthma care remains poor in the U.S.

Asthmaniac is My Solution for this Problem.

• Asthmaniac focuses only on asthma.  

That allows me to really drill into the most current techniques for asthma control, patient education, and how to deliver care.

• Asthmaniac is built around the well-defined National Standards for Asthma Care. 

That means everything I recommend is state-of-the-art and based on evidence, science, and clinical practice.

• Asthmaniac leverages smartphone and telemedicine methods

It is no longer acceptable to require you to come to a clinic when I can do everything that you and I need to accomplish by voice and video.  Delivering doctor visits by phone and video is way less expensive for me which allows me to reduce the cost of the doctor visit for you.

It’s also more convenient for you to get your doctor visit from wherever you are, right?

• No Insurance Needed

Your ability to get great asthma care should not be gummed up by an insurance issue.  That’s why I keep the insurance companies out of our visits and keep the cost of the visit fair and reasonable for an out-of-pocket expense.

• Electronic Prescriptions

It is kind of ridiculous in this electronic era that you’d have to take a paper prescription to the pharmacy for your medication.  In my system, these medication orders are transmitted electronically.  That keeps your care convenient and efficient and no paper to lose!

• Online Symptom Assessment

Years of asthma research have produced convenient ways to track your asthma symptoms.  These surveys can be used to give an early sign that your asthma is out of control and vice versa, can be reassuring proof that your asthma action plan is working.  I have integrated one of these surveys, the Asthma Control Test (ACT) into my clinic and you can take it anytime on your phone, tablet or desktop computer at https://asthmaniac.com/asthma-control-test.  After you complete the test, your score is sent to you along with my recommendations. 

• Peak Expiratory Flow

Knowing how your lungs are performing is really important in planning your medication and asthma action plan.  Listening to your lungs is not that helpful in showing small changes in your lung function.  Fortunately, research with pocket flow meters has shown that these devices are really useful in detecting early drops in function that tell me you need a different medication and a different asthma action plan.  I make sure all of my patients have a pocket meter and that they use it regularly.

• Follow-up Care is an Essential Part of Asthmaniac

Asthma control has a lot of moving parts.  Inconsistent follow-up care:

• Interrupts medication refills,
• Blocks clinical reassessment, 
• Prevents adjustments in medication dosage, and
• Derails optimization of treatment plans.

Even if asthma patients were motivated to go into their doctor’s clinic for follow-up, with the COVID19 pandemic, they are discouraged to go for fear of catching the virus.  

Asthmaniac makes that follow-up visit as easy as a phone call but loaded with important information about your asthma.

• Asthma Action Plan

I need to get you really involved in your asthma control.  The best way is to develop a plan that you understand and can follow.  This Asthma Action Plan is modified as your asthma changes which happens due to illness, seasons, or age.  We revisit this plan at every follow-up visit and then I send it to your phone where you can study it and refer to it when your symptoms change.

The basic problem that asthma patients have faced forever is still true today:  Uncontrolled asthma is dangerous!

But unlike the past, asthma can be controlled!

Asthmaniac is all about your asthma control.

Asthmaniac provides:

• Consistent,
• Quality strategies for control of your asthma
• Based on guidelines from the NIH. ( National Asthma Education and Prevention Program, Third Expert Panel on the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma. Expert Panel Report 3: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma. Bethesda (MD): National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (US); 2007 Aug. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK7232/)

I have designed Astmaniac to help you MASTER your asthma!

Yes, there is a lot to learn about asthma.

In order to really understand and be in control of YOUR asthma, you need to know more about it.

Let me be your partner in getting in control.

Here’s where my three decades of experience come in handy.  I have selected the most important concepts that I know you need to understand for optimal self-management.

I post them at Asthmaniac.com in the section titled Asthmaniac Facts.

And since neither you or I stop learning, I add new sections frequently, bringing you the most expert guidance available.

You can read them in the blog section of Asthmaniac.com.

OR…better yet,

subscribe and receive a message each time I add a new blog or a new podcast!

#asthmacontrolnow
#telemedicineasthmacare
#backpocketasthmadoc
#asthmaactionplan
#asthmacontroltest
#asthmacontroller
#rescueinhaler
#asthmacovid19
#childrenandasthma
#eprescription
#easthma
#peakexpiratoryflow
#peakflowmeter
#asthmaniac