COLUMBUS – Missed school days, trips to the emergency room, limited physical activity. These are some of the results of severe asthma, the most common chronic childhood illness.
Experts at Nationwide Children’s Hospital hope a new mobile app called AsthmaCare will help children and their families better manage the ailment.
Users can enter specific information about their child, such as asthma attack triggers and medications, and can set daily reminders about avoiding triggers and taking their medicine, said Dr. David Stukus, a physician with the Section of Allergy/Immunology at Children’s who helped develop the app.
When a child experiences symptoms or needs to use their reliever medication, that information is entered into the app, which activates a personalized asthma action plan, he said.
Stukus says parents who use AsthmaCare for their children have said that it is customizable and easy to use.
AsthmaCare is free and available for iPhone and some Android devices.