Asthma is a chronic disease that affects millions of American children. Dr. Frank Virant, clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, refers to the disease as “twitchy lungs.” When asthmatics are exposed to irritants like dust, pet dander, mold or pollen, their airways constrict and narrow. Then, fluid enters the bronchioles (tiny airways that run to the alveoli, or tiny air sacs, in the lungs), causing them to become inflamed and further restricting breathing.

Asthma can be categorized into two sections: episodic (attacks occur less than twice a week and are brought on by exposure to an allergen or exercise) and persistent (attacks occur more than twice a week). Common triggers of the disease include dust mites, pollen, pet dander, viral infections, exercise, weather changes, tobacco smoke and pollution.