Coloring and Activity Book Asthma ©Advocate Health Care 2025 Windsor Drive, Oak Brook, IL 60523 This patient guide was partially funded by a grant from Merck & Co. Inc. and the Otho S.A. Sprague Memorial Institute. 1 Breathing can be okay. Your asthma can be well controlled. This coloring and activity book is for children and their families. Each activity will take you step by step to understanding how to be your best with asthma. It will tell about asthma and the plan created by you and your doctor. There are pages to color, pictures to draw, things to figure out and puzzles to do. What is asthma? Color the Lungs: 2 Asthma takes place in the breathing tubes in your lungs (your airways). There are two kinds of asthma. Intermittent asthma is when symptoms come and go. Sometimes the signs or symptoms seem to be brought about by very specific things like exercise. The second kind of asthma is called persistent asthma. This means that the problem is always there. When your asthma is in good control because you are taking your daily medicines you may not have symptoms. You work with your doctor to make an ASTHMA ACTION PLAN. This plan is made for each person because asthma can be different in every person with asthma. People with asthma can lead active, busy lives full of fun activities. 11 22 3 What are the STATS or numbers about asthma? • 18 million people in the United States have asthma. • More children have asthma than any other ongoing (chronic) disease. • 5 million American children have asthma. • The number of people who are dying from asthma is going up. • Asthma is expensive for the United States. Missed work and school due to asthma, asthma medicines and hospital visits for asthma cost $6,000,000,000. — One visit to the emergency room can cost almost $2,000. Draw 6 billion dollars. (That’s a lotta moola!) 4 Breathing, How the lungs work: Breathing in and out should be easy. Air travels from the nose and the mouth then to airways in the lungs. The air in the lungs carries oxygen to feed the body. Air also carried carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) out of the lungs. CO 2 is a waste product and needs to come out of the body. O 2 /CO 2 MAZE Out with the bad air in with the good…start at the “X” and find your way. O 2 CO 2 X 5 Airways in asthma People with asthma have airways that are sensitive or twitchy. The sensitive airways are worse when they come in contact with certain things called triggers. Some triggers are cold air, animal fur, and dust or tree and plant pollen. Viruses make people sick with a cold can also be a trigger for asthma. Triggers can make the airways swell and become narrow. When this is really bad it is called an asthma attack. Many people with asthma have a family member with asthma or allergies. Hidden Picture of Triggers Can you find all of the triggers that appear in these pictures? 6 Asthma Attacks During an asthma attack the airways become narrowed from: • Increased swelling • Tightening of the muscles around the airways • Mucous or phlegm As the airways swell up, the muscles on the outside of the airways tighten, causing them to narrow. When they narrow, air cannot move through the airways and it becomes hard to breathe air in and out. The lungs make more thick, gooey mucous that blocks the airways. In an asthma attack you may cough constantly, start wheezing or feel that it is hard to breathe. Color the three different airways and circle the one that is best!! 7 Asthma attacks can be different for each person. Not everyone has a cough or wheeze. How do you know if you or someone in your family has asthma? The following are signs and symptoms of asthma. Color the squares of any of the signs below you have or had when you first found out you had asthma ❑ Wheezing or whistling sound ❑ Constant Cough ❑ Chest hurts or feels tight ❑ Throat hurts or is itchy ❑ Nose itchy ❑ Trouble breathing during and after exercise and/or being very tired ❑ Fast breathing ❑ Scared feeling ❑ Heaviness or pressure in or on chest ❑ Nighttime breathing problem that wakes you up 8 The following are some of the signs of an asthma attack • Nose flaring • Tightness in the chest • Coughing or wheezing • Not being able to sleep due to constant coughing or waking up often at night • Difficulty breathing • Fast breathing • Peak flow meter reading in the yellow or red zone (more about this on page X) DANGEROUS SIGNS • PALE OR BLUE LIPS OR FINGERS • BELLY OR CHEST LOOKS SUNKEN CALL 911 WITH DANGER SIGNS [...].. .ACTIVITY: How it looks when I’m having an asthma attack My warning signs Draw a picture of yourself HERE 9 Triggers: Can you name them? Triggers cause asthma symptoms and may lead to an attack There are ways to control and reduce most triggers ANIMALS Cat and Dog fur and dander are triggers Draw your dog or cat (real or imaginary): It’s better not to own a cat or dog but if you have one and aren’t... overheated • Calm and reassure the person WHAT WOULD YOU DO NEXT? If someone is having an asthma attack, which of the following is the right thing to do? 30 Asthma medicines It’s important to remember that controlling triggers can prevent an asthma attack By controlling triggers and taking medicines prescribed by your doctor, you can control your asthma There are two basic groups of medicines for asthma Controller... Exercise Asthma Exercise asthma can occur during exercise or playing sports Having this type of asthma does not mean you cannot exercise! Remember many popular athletes have asthma If you have exercise asthma the best thing to do is take your medicine before exercise, recess, sports or play • Take your rescue medicines 20-30 minutes before you play sports • Try keeping a journal of what type of activity. .. Draw and color a virus • Colds and flu are caused by viruses and can make asthma worse • Avoid getting or spreading viruses by washing your hands • Eat healthy foods, including five servings of fruits and vegetables a day • Drink plenty of water, juice, Kool aid or Gatorade 5-6 glasses a day Don’t drink pop • Get a flu shot from your doctor every year in the fall Wash hands when dirty, after play, before... of the airways and help prevent an asthma attack While controller medicines don’t work immediately, they must be taken every day, even if you feel good Rescue medicines These medicines help relieve sudden asthma symptoms for a short time Rescue medicines relax tight muscles in the airways or can be used before activity and allow you to breathe easier for a while What are some questions and concerns... serious your asthma is Taking your medicine every day controls your asthma #4 My family remedies work better and are cheaper Some home remedies may help you feel better for some symptoms However, if you have been diagnosed with asthma, they will not help you in the long run, and may even be dangerous Talk to your doctor 32 My personal zones Green zone / GO I don’t have any symptoms of an asthma attack... pollution by your home • Smoke, dirt and vapors are in the air Factories and cars and trucks put them there • Avoid places with a lot of pollution • Watch or listen to the news Know the pollution conditions like ozone warnings daily Stay inside when the numbers are up Call (312) 744-4365 to check ozone levels • Clean air filters on furnaces and air conditioners 14 POLLEN Color and draw these pollen makers... the bandit August through the first frost - weeds make their pollen If you play outside, take a shower and wash your hair to get the pollen off especially before going to bed COLD AIR Put a scarf on the girls face Breathing cold air can cause an attack Use a scarf or mask over your nose and mouth in very cold weather Or you can pull your turtleneck up over your nose and mouth 15 INFECTIONS Draw and. .. sizes (small, medium and large) 29 What to do if someone has an asthma attack Check the scene for safety •Check if the person is breathing • Find the person’s asthma medicine • Check for other injuries Call 911 or the local emergency number if the person’s breathing does not get better quickly • Help the person sit up and rest in a comfortable breathing position • Help the person take asthma medicine •... PERSONAL BEST start at the “X” and find your way X 27 Using an MDI with spacer 1 Put the MDI and empty spacer together 2 Shake vigorously 3 Practice breathing - breathe in deeply, breathe out normally 4 Seal lips around spacer mouthpiece (1/2 inch in your mouth) 5 Push down on the MDI Breathe in slowly and deeply while keeping your mouth on the spacer mouthpiece 6 Hold your breath and count to 10 (in your . Co. Inc. and the Otho S.A. Sprague Memorial Institute. 1 Breathing can be okay. Your asthma can be well controlled. This coloring and activity book is for children. for children and their families. Each activity will take you step by step to understanding how to be your best with asthma. It will tell about asthma and the