Australian Website makes children asthma management a breeze.

January  16, 2013

Media release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Australian website makes children’s asthma management a breeze.

A recent international study found that teens who consumed three or more servings of fast food per week were up to 40% more likely to have serve asthma, with separate research showing that Australia has the third highest rate of childhood asthma in the world, with the condition costing the community over $700 million dollars per annum. 

Australia Mum and owner of Asthma Peeps, Kym Latter, is passionate about creating products and resources for parents that allow them to effectively communicate with their children about asthma symptoms and medication management.

With statistics showing that one in eight Australian children are now affected by asthma, Asthma Peeps provides a range of products designed to provide parents with the ability to discuss this continue with their child.

Asthma Peeps was launched by Kym Latter in 2012 following a personal experience that saw her own daughter hospitalised for almost a week after a serious asthma attack just days before her sixth birthday.

"When we initially launched the book, we found that most children's books about asthma were not targeted towards young children,” Mrs Latter revealed.

“We wanted to provide children with information, characters and a story that they could relate to, that put the situation into a context they could understand,” she said.

The Trouble with Bear Hugs – A Story about Asthma follows the journey of Lulu and her new friend Bear as Lulu learns about living with and managing her asthma.

“Lulu loves liquorice, running in the garden and playing with her chickens. Lulu also has asthma. When she gets an unexpected hug from her new friend Bear, she struggles to breathe and doesn’t know what to do next. It’s up to Poppa and the blue puffer to save the day. Lulu learns that asthma, just like Bear, will be with her for life ‐ but won’t always be scary,” explained Mrs Latter.

The fundamental goal of the book was to create a story that translated the often complex medical terminology surrounding asthma management into examples that young children could understand.

“For instance, a “tight feeling” in the chest can be compared to the feeling of “a big bear giving you a bear hug” – when this happens, it’s time to tell a grown-up!”

Asthma Peeps launched www.asthmapeeps.com in 2012 as a way to make asthma medication and management easier for families, and to help children embrace their condition in a fun and positive way.

Their range of products includes personalised stickers which are applied to the outside of spacers and inhalers, providing an attractive teaching tool for children learning about medication management and inhaler techniques.

Additionally, Asthma Peeps emergency wallet card details a child’s asthma medication, attack symptoms and first-aid steps during an asthma emergency.

These colourful, animated labels and wallet card are designed to help reinforce the discussion of correct inhaler techniques between parent and child so that patients receive the full therapeutic benefit, as well as breaking down negative myths associated with the condition.

Asthma Peeps is a proud partner of Asthma Australia and donates $1 from every purchase made via the website to Asthma Australia.