May 11, 2007

Learning to Use Spacers and Inhalers

May 11, 2007/ Julian Davies, MD

Inhalers for asthma, when used with a mask/spacer device, work just as well as nebulizer machines, with much less time and fuss. Here are some tips:

For younger children show them on yourself, then have them "teach" a stuffed animal, and practice on you.
Let them play with a new mask and spacer for a while before using it for meds
If they don't like the mouth taste of the medication, let them have a potato- or tortilla-chip before-hand, to coat their tongue, and then give them a sweet treat, fruit, or sugar-free gum afterwards to wash out the taste (from Contemporary Pediatrics)
For inhaled steroids (Flovent, etc), wipe around their mouth afterwards, and give them something to drink to wask out the medicine.

Center for Adoption Medicine

Our center has 3 pediatricians that specialize in adoption medicine: Julia Bledsoe, MD, Julian Davies, MD, and Cynthia Kertesz, MD. We have over a decade of experience in international adoption and foster care.

CENTER FOR ADOPTION MEDICINE

Our center has two pediatricians that specialize in adoption medicine: Julia Bledsoe, MD and Julian Davies, MD.

We perform pre-adoption consultations by telephone for families adopting from abroad or domestically. We also provide post-placement evaluations and ongoing pediatric care at our Seattle clinic.