Dr. Darryl Adamko is one of two Saskatchewan-based pediatric respirologists (children’s lung doctors) – with a special connection to The Lung Association. As a medical student, Dr. Adamko helped look after the children’s medical needs at our summer asthma camp.
As a medical student, you attended The Lung Association asthma camp. Tell us what camp was like for you.
With summertime being full of activity, The Lung Association wants to ensure that the one in five children with asthma keep it under control so they can stay active. If asthma is putting your child on the sideline that is a signal their asthma is not under control.
Check your child’s asthma control with these simple questions. Does the child:
It’s that time of year that everyone anticipates: weekend getaways to the cottage, playing outdoors all day long and fun family trips. But, if your child suffers from asthma, keeping it under control during the summer months is necessary to ensure he or she has an active and safe school break. Plan ahead and take precautions to reduce their risks. Because asthma doesn’t take a holiday, managing it while away is just as important as it is when at home.
Here are some tips from The Lung Association to help your child take control of their breathing.
Spending time outdoors during the hot summer months is a given, but for those who suffer from asthma and other lung diseases, air pollution can make it harder to breathe.
Air pollution, a mix of particles and gases like ozone, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide, can negatively affect your health and breathing. Some of the effects are minor, while others can be more severe.
Short term health effects include an increase in:
As a child, you attended The Lung Association asthma camp. Tell us what camp was like for you and your experience with asthma.
Our volunteers provide critical support that help us to carry out our mission of promoting lung health and managing and preventing lung disease. We simply couldn’t do what we do without them. We are particularly lucky to have a stable core of devoted in-house volunteers, some of whom have been with us for more than 20 years. Meet Mina, our staff volunteer coordinator as well as a few of our cherished volunteers, Sing, Jean and Nida.
Anne is the volunteer president of our Lung Association Better Breathers support group in New Westm
Air pollution can make it hard to breathe. It also can increase someone’s blood pressure and heart rate. Those problems are well known. Now research, in part funded by the BC Lung Association, suggests breathing diesel fumes can trigger another toxic change. It can inappropriately turn some genes on, while turning others off.
The Air Quality Health Index or “AQHI” is a scale designed to help you understand what the air quality around you means to your health. It’s a health protection tool designed to help you make decisions to protect your health by limiting short-term exposure to air pollution and adjusting your activity levels during increased levels of air pollution – and it’s particularly important for those whose health is at most risk from air pollution.
When we speak of air pollution, we generally think about the air outside. However, the vast majority of our time is spent indoors. Few studies have looked at how outdoor air pollution affects indoor air quality. We sat down to gain some insight with Perry Hystad who completed his doctoral studies on air quality at the University of British Columbia.
