The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

26 - The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday May 3, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com Crime Prevention Starts in the Neighbourhood www.oakvilleneighbourhoodwatch.ca crisis as opportunity Individual, Marital and Family Therapy Breathe easier by controlling asthma SANDRA WHITE, M.S.W., R.S.W. 905-339-3356 KNEE, HEEL & ARCH PAIN ARE TREATABLE! Understanding the source of your foot and knee pain could lead to permanent relief. Book a consultation today! SALIMA KASSAM REG. CHIROPODIST P NEW LOCATION Free Parking in front of office We Treat: · Diabetic Foot Care · General Care · Custom Made Foot Orthotics Covered by most insurance companies. 728 Burloak Drive 905-632-1414 "It was heart-wrenching to see my little Cloe gasp for air between her severe bouts of coughing. You can't imagine how scared and helpless I felt as I carried her into the Emergency Room," recalled Josie Wagstaffe describing her six-year-old daughter's asthma attack last October. "Asthma is a condition in which the airways in the lungs become inflamed, swollen and hypersensitive to irritations and allergens. As the airways narrow and mucus builds up, the movement of air in and out of the lungs is restricted making breathing difficult," said Dr. John Kirby, Medical Director of the Asthma Education Centre at Halton Healthcare Services' Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital (OTMH). "Children have smaller airways than adults so the symptoms can be more frequent and severe. The good news is that asthma is treatable. With medication, asthma can be controlled and its symptoms are reversible." Cloe had experienced respiratory problems ever since she was a baby. The pattern was always the same. A simple cold would quickly develop into bronchitis or pneumonia and her condition would deteriorate from there. SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER TAKING A BREATHER: Liz Brunato, Halton Healthcare Services (HHS) respiratory therapist and asthma educator looks on as Josie Wagstaffe helps her daughter Cloe with her inhaler. "We had many a sleepless night over the years when I thought she was actually choking as she struggled to breathe." Josie Wagstaffe, Cloe's mom "We had many a sleepless night over the years when I thought she was actually choking as she struggled to breathe," said her mom. "And we constantly lived in fear of the next unexpected episode." Cloe was referred to Halton Healthcare Services' Asthma Education Centre (AEC) by her paediatrician, after spending four days last Thanksgiving at OTMH recovering from another pneumonia-induced episode. It was during this visit that Wagstaffe and Cloe met and worked with Liz Brunato, HHS respiratory therapist and asthma educator to learn how to proactively manage Cloe's condition. "Over the course of a number of very thorough educational visits we got the information and support we needed to get Cloe's condition under control. We learned all about how the lungs worked, asthma, and that in Cloe's case, it is triggered by an increase in physical activity or a cold or respiratory infection," said Wagstaffe. "Triggers can really vary from person to person and can include environmental factors like dust or smoke, allergens like animal dander and even emotionally upsetting situations. We usually ask patients, or in Cloe's case, her parents to keep a diary to track their symptoms to see if there is a pattern," said Brunato. Brunato also reviewed both Cloe's condition as well as her medications and showed both Cloe and her mother how to properly use the puffer. "The successful treatment of asthma usually combines two types of medications, anti-inflammatories, known as "preventor" medications, which prevent symptoms and flare-ups and bronchodilators known as "quick relief" medication, which relieve any symptoms that do occur," said Brunato. "Both medications are most commonly administered by an inhaler or puffer -- so it is vital that our patients use their puffers correctly -- otherwise they won't get enough of their prescribed dosage." In addition, Wagstaffe learned how to determine whether Cloe's medication was working and how to assess her daughter's breathing so she can gage how and when to adjust Cloe's medication. "My fear and helplessness has now been replaced by effective management strategies. If Cloe is getting a cold or her breathing is laboured, I know I need to increase the dosage to avert an asthmatic episode. It is all about prevention." "Mrs. Brunato and the Asthma Education Centre have been a Godsend and it gives me tremendous comfort to know we have such a great resource in our community," said Wagstaffe. "I now feel confident that I can monitor my daughter's condition -- intervening proactively when necessary -- to help her before her conditions spirals out of control." HHS has an Asthma Education Centre at all three of its community hospitals. Patients are referred to the AEC by their family physicians, paediatrician, respirologist or automatically from all three of HHS' community hospital emergency rooms. While the AECs do not take self-referrals, the AEC co-ordinator can help facilitate the process by contacting the patient's doctor and arranging for a referral. To contact the Asthma Education Centre at OTMH call 905-338-4691. More than three million Canadians have asthma and asthma is the No. 1 reason Canadian children visit emergency rooms. More than 60 per cent of Canadians with asthma do not have it under good control and many do not realize their condition can be better controlled.