Amy from Nevada wrote in saying, "My 16 month old has asthma and was recently put on nebuliser treatments. She's squirmy and the noisy nebuliser scares her. Any ideas?"

A few, actually. This isn't an uncommon problem - many children resist nebulizer treatments. Here are several simple ways to make the process easier for you and your little one.

  • Make It Less Scary. Depending on how old your child is, they might find Panda Nebulizernebulizer machines scary. For these children, we offer several pediatric nebulizers designed to look like penguins, pandas, dogs, fire trucks and a variety of other kid friendly shapes. Also, many parents find it useful to turn on the nebulizer before putting the mask on their child. This way your child hears the motor and sees the mist so it won't come as a scary surprise later.
  • Let Her Hold the Mask. Often kids are more at ease if they get to hold the nebulizer mask themselves, as this gives them some control over the process.
  • Entertain Her. Nebulizer treatments aren't the most exciting thing in the world. Reading a book to your daughter or letting her watch cartoons helps make the time go by a lot quicker.
  • Make It a Game. Different kids respond better to different tactics, but here are a few we've heard - let your child use an extra mask to give her favorite toy a pretend treatment. Tell your child that she is a dragon, blowing out smoke. Or, if your child is old enough, try a building block nebulizer.
  • Use a Pacifier Attachment. Depending on the age of your child, they might be more at ease while using a pacifier. You can either let them use their pacifier under the mask or get a pacifier attachment to put on the nebulizer instead of a mask.

With these simple tricks, your child should be comfortably using a nebulizer in no time. Good luck!