Asthma triggers, simply put, are those things that cause people with asthma to have their asthma act up. In other words, asthma triggers trigger asthma; they set asthma off. For people who have asthma, it’s important to try and “figger your triggers,” because knowing what your triggers are can help you keep from having an asthma attack and go on breathing easy.

The tricky part is that there are many triggers and everybody has different reactions to the different triggers. Some people only have a few triggers, like people who only have “exercise-induced asthma.” For them, the only time they have asthma symptoms is when they are physically active. For others, they may have a whole laundry list of triggers and find it hard to get away from them.

Some of the most common asthma triggers include: (more…)

Hal answered the phone and immediately sneezed – right into the mouthpiece. His buddy, Paco, who was on the other end said, “Geez, thanks. Guess it’s pollen a’calling, eh, Hal?”

Hal wiped his nose on his sleeve (he regretted that as soon as he saw the rather gross trail it left) and replied, “Aw, sorry, Paco. It just came on outta nowhere. I been doin’ it all day. You’d think I have allergies or something.”

Paco chuckled and said, “It’s OK, Hal. I’ve heard worse things on the phone before. So, anywho, if you’ve been sneezing so much, maybe you do have allergies.”

“Naw,” retorted Hal, “my mom thought I did when I was little and she had the doc test me. Nada. Guess I’m just a natural sneezer or something.”

“Hey, man, maybe you’re like me,” said Paco.

Whaddya mean, bean? Wait…no…you got asthma. That’s not me, Paco,” quipped Hal. “I got no coughin’ or wheezin’ or nothin’. I’ve just been sneezing with this (more…)

At the recent Planetree Conference, promoting patient-/person-centered care, we heard some of the best “evidence” that Health Nuts Media animation was having a truly wonderful impact upon patients. These patient success stories came from one of the good folks at JFK Medical Center in New Jersey where they are using HNM content via their interactive in-room patient video services system provided by our channel partner, TVR Communications.

Adriana Rizzolo, MSN RN CRNP, spoke about some of her experiences using Health Nuts Media’s patient education content. She is a Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist who serves as the clinical leader for Pediatric Nursing within JFK Medical Center. Her skills include clinical expertise in pediatrics, evidence based practice, collaboration, consultation, education, mentoring, and change leadership.

Adrianna’s clinical expertise stems from 6 years experience as a Pediatric Acute Care and Critical Care Nurse at a level one trauma center. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing and her Master’s degree as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. She is board certified (more…)

Treating asthma successfully is all about asthma education. The better you understand asthma and what you need to do to control it, the “happier” your breathing will be.

There are lots of big and small choices you’ll make every day which can impact your breathing. Choosing to do things that help keep your lungs stable rather than choosing things that might set off asthma symptoms is an important part of asthma control. Know what your triggers are helps you keep away from asthma flares. Knowing the difference between “maintenance” and “quick-acting” (also called “rescue”) medicines and why you use one instead of the other is also very important. Learning about your own set of “signs” that your asthma is in the early stages of acting up is another key issue to understand.

Whether you have asthma that requires daily maintenance medicine or “intermittent” asthma that only occasionally calls for quick-acting medication, understanding how you take the medicine is one other vitally important concept.

Most people with asthma know that asthma is often treated with medicines they breathe in and that there are two main ways to get that medicine into their lungs: nebulizers and inhalers. What some people don’t know, though, is that (more…)

Health Nut Hal walked in at just the wrong moment. The glare he got from Tayshaun as he turned the corner into the living room could have frozen a volcano.

“Whoa, dude. What’s that steam coming from your ears all about?” asked Hal.

“Sorry, Hal, it’s not you man. It’s my mom,” answered Tayshaun as his icy glared started to melt. “She thinks she knows everything and I don’t know nothin’.”

Hal chuckled, “Shoot, it’s that way with every adult, bro. They all think they know and that kids don’t.”

“Yeah, well, she’s telling me I gotta learn how to use this stupid puffer and spacer thingy,” said Tayshaun as he held up an inhaler stuck into the end of a small, clear plastic tube. “She said Doc Yan don’t want me using my nebulizer for my asthma meds anymore, at least not all the time. I told her I like my neb machine. Heck, I been usin’ it since I can’t even remember when. It’s always been just fine. I don’t get why I gotta change.”

“So…what…you don’t like the spacer?” Hal questioned.

“Yeah. I mean, no. I mean, no, it isn’t that. I like my nebs. It works and (more…)

Seattle Times reports on advances in technology to help people with asthma

Los Angeles, CA — August 9, 2012: Last week, the Seattle Times ran a great little piece entitled, “New high-tech devices monitor asthma, raise awareness” in which Health Nuts Media and one of our wonderful distribution partners, Learn360 Health were highlighted.

Staff reporter Kibkabe Araya researched how “Technology is helping people with asthma better manage their symptoms, even avoid certain triggers. Companies are unveiling devices that track inhaler usage with GPS, measure wheezing and compile data on smartphone mobile apps.”

According to the article, “‘We discovered over 85 percent of patients can bring their asthma under control,’ (more…)