Asthma Glossary for Kids

Action Plan - This is the personal plan you set up with your doctor that tells you when you should take different types of medicine or what to do in an emergency.

Allergen - Something that can cause you to cough or wheeze or have an asthma flare-up.

Allergy - When your body is sensitive to certain things, you have an allergy to them.

Anti-inflammatory Medicine - A medicine that reduces or prevents inflammation in the lungs to help you breathe better.

Asthma - A disease that makes your lungs sensitive and can make it hard to breathe.

Asthma Trigger - Anything that can cause asthma, an asthma flare up, or make your asthma symptoms worse.

Bronchi - Your bronchi are the tubes in your lungs that air passes through when you breathe.

Bronchoconstriction - Bronchoconstriction is when the muscles in your lungs squeeze together and make it hard for you to breathe.

Bronchodilator - A medicine that opens up the airways in the lungs.

Anti-inflammatory medicine - Anti-inflammatory medicine is taken to help prevent the swelling and mucus that builds up in your lungs.

Dry Powder Inhaler (DPI) - This medicine device delivers a specific amount of medicine into the lungs. It comes out in a dry, powder form.

Inflammation - Inflammation is the swelling that's always in your lungs when you have asthma.

Inhaler - This is a device that is used to get medicine into the lungs.

Long-Term Control Medicine - Medicine that you take every day to help manage your asthma and prevent asthma symptoms.

Metered Dose Inhaler (MDI) - A type of inhaler used to get medicine into your lungs. An MDI is a small spray canister that is used to take medicine that you inhale through your mouth.

Mucus - A thick, sticky substance that protects and moisten parts of the body, including the lungs and nose.

Nebulizer Machine - A machine that turns medicine into a mist or spray so that you can breathe it into your lungs.

Peak Flow Meter (also called a Peak Flow Monitor) - A device used to measure how much air you can breathe out of your lungs, just like a thermometer measures your temperature.

Personal Best Number - This is the highest number you can get on a peak flow meter when your breathing is at its best.

Puffer - Another name for an inhaler, or pump, that you use to take asthma medicine.

Quick-Relief Medicine - Quick-relief medicines (such as albuterol) work by opening the airways quickly when you feel asthma symptoms such as coughing, chest tightness, wheezing, or shortness of breath.

Side Effects - This is a name for any problems that can be caused by taking your medicine, like getting a headache or stomachache.

Spacer Chamber - A spacer is a device that can be attached to the end of your metered dose inhaler to help get medicine into your lungs.