Jenny: Visiting Grandma and Her Cat*
Childhood asthma triggered by pet allergy
Maggie, mother of Jenny, a child with asthma, told us about how close Jenny is to her grandmother. "Jenny is five, and she adores my mom," Maggie said. "My mom watches Jenny when she gets home from kindergarten, which is a big help to me."
Jenny's grandmother recently adopted a kitten, which posed a challenge for Jenny's asthma. "Jenny just had to go over to meet the kitten the day mom brought it home," Maggie said. "Within a couple of minutes, Jenny began coughing and wheezing. She had to use her inhaler a few times before her breathing was finally under control. After that she needed to use her inhaler every day she went to my mom's."
An allergic asthma diagnosis
"We went to see Jenny's doctor," Maggie went on. "She told us that Jenny had allergic asthma, and that we needed to get it under control. She prescribed QVAR® for Jenny, and told us that it was very important for her to take it every day, both in the morning and before bed. Her doctor said that because the QVAR® particles are small, it targets both the large and small airways in Jenny's lungs."
Back in control of asthma with QVAR®
After about 4 weeks, Jenny's asthma improved. "She needed to use her quick-relief inhaler less," Maggie recalled. "And her lung test results looked better, too. Now we're looking into Jenny's allergies, to make sure that they're under control too. We're still really careful when we visit my mom, but Jenny's asthma is definitely more controlled now."
*Note: The examples presented here are composite patients. Any resemblance to actual people, living or deceased, is coincidental.
QVAR
® (beclomethasone dipropionate HFA) Inhalation Aerosol is used in the ongoing treatment of asthma as preventative therapy in patients 5 years of age or older.
QVAR
® is also used for asthma patients who require systemic corticosteroid administration, where adding QVAR
® may reduce or eliminate the need for systemic corticosteroids.
QVAR
® does not replace quick-relief inhalers for sudden symptoms.
CAUTION: If you are stopping or switching from an oral corticosteroid to QVAR®, follow your doctor's instructions to avoid health risks. (See WARNINGS, Prescribing Information).
Inhaled corticosteroids may cause a reduction in growth rate, so children taking QVAR
® should have their growth checked regularly. The long-term effect on final adult growth is unknown.
Do not stop taking QVAR
® abruptly without talking to your doctor.
In clinical studies, common side effects included headache and sore throat. These are not all of the possible side effects of QVAR
®. For more information, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit
www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call
1-800-FDA-1088.