By Melissa Sherman, BSN, RN


If you are the parent of a child that has just been diagnosed with asthma, you have many questions. Will he outgrow it? Will she be able to play sports? With all of the information the health care provider gave me, where do I start? A good place may be The Six Key Steps on Your Pathway To Asthma Control.

In NJ, more than 188,000* children have asthma! The good news is, you are not alone and there are many resources to help you. The first thing you should know is that although your child will not outgrow his asthma, as it is not something that can be cured, his asthma can be controlled. There are free resources on our website www.pacnj.org to help you start gaining control of your child’s asthma today!

  • Do you have a written asthma treatment plan for your child? Meet with your child’s healthcare provider and ask for a written Asthma Treatment Plan.
  • Do you know what your child’s triggers are? Learn to avoid things that make your child’s asthma worse. Use the Trigger Tracker to keep track of the different things that may trigger an asthma attack.
  • Use the Top Ten Actions to Control Asthma Triggers in Your Home to know what to do about the things that trigger your child’s asthma.

Learn as much as you can!
Start gaining control of your child’s asthma today!
*Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Talk to Your Child’s
Health Care Provider –
Get an Asthma
Treatment Plan

What is an Asthma Treatment Plan?

It is a written plan prepared by your child’s health care provider to control his asthma.

Your Child’s Asthma Treatment Plan tells you:

• What medicine your child takes
• How much medicine your child should take
• When your child should take his medicine
• What to do in an emergency, or when your child’s asthma is getting worse
• What things trigger your child’s asthma – like dust, m