Asthma is what happens when you can’t breathe very well. Your chest might hurt or feel very tight, and sometimes you may start to cough. During an asthma attack, your lungs can’t do what they are supposed to to help you breathe.

It is important for you and your family to work together to keep your asthma in good control. That means learning about and avoiding asthma “triggers”, getting lots of rest, listening to your doctors and taking your medicine when you are supposed to.

Just because you have asthma doesn’t mean you can’t do many of the things other kids do. Lots of kids have asthma. You should listen to your family, doctors and nurses to help keep your asthma under control.
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​An asthma trigger is a thing, activity or condition that makes asthma worse. When you come in contact with a trigger it can cause a sudden worsening of symptoms which is often called an asthma attack, episode or flare-up.

Use this tool, the Asthma Trigger House, to find and learn about common asthma triggers in a home. There are four rooms in our house to visit. Click on an item in the room to learn if it is a trigger and how to avoid or reduce the trigger.