May is Asthma Awareness Month. Throughout the month there will be increased activity in the area of Asthma Education and the risks of second hand smoke. There are also asthma screening centers sponsored by Astra Zeneca set up throughout the country. The asthma screening is in it’s 12th year and provides free screening questionnaires and breathing tests to adults and children.

When you arrive at the screening center you will be given a questionnaire to fill out. Kids 8-14 will get their own form to fill out. For kids under the age of 7 the parents fill out the form. After filling out the questionnaire you will be given a short, painless breathing test. This consists of you breathing deep and blowing out hard and fast into a tube that measures the speed and amount of air you exhaled and inhaled. After the test you will go over the results with an allergist who may have more questions for you.

If there is no screening center in your area there are online questionnaires to fill out and you can discuss the answers with your physician.

The following links are furnished by the American College of Allergy
Asthma & Immunology.

Locate a screening center near you click

For online asthma questionnaires click

For public education consumer quizzes click

For public education fact sheets click

Take Control of Your Asthma, A Guide for People With Asthma click