Iowa Pediatric Asthma & Allergy
Iowa Pediatric Asthma & Allergy
Iowa Pediatric Asthma & Allergy
Iowa Pediatric Asthma & Allergy

For Our Parents

Our goal is to partner with you and get and keep your children healthy. No one knows your child's respitory condition as well as you and your family. We listen and work with you on the best approach in getting your child well. 

 

We make it a priority to train you how to recognize and respond to your child’s symptoms. It is critical that you be actively involved in constructing the treatment plan for allergies and asthma as you will be the one performing it. Please make sure that if you are uncomfortable with any aspect of the plan that you ask us. If possible, we will adjust the plan to your preference. There may be limited options, but we want you to understand the pros and cons for each option.

 

Prior to and during the first evaluation:

Evaluation starts with history. A majority of the decisions made will rely on the information that you can provide whether it's asthma, allergies, or other lung diseases.  It will be helpful to know exactly what the symptoms are, when they started, what makes them better or worse.


Click here for our patient information forms.  You can complete them prior to your first visit and email them back to us.

 

The examination:

A focused examination will be performed. It is important to know that the examination has a very limited usefulness. While many medical personnel put a lot of weight into the stethoscope exam, studies have shown it is not a very reliable tool.  Patients with a very small degree or abnormality may make a lot of extra noises detected with a stethoscope. At the same time, patients may have a drop in lung function almost 70% and still sound perfectly normal.

 

It is important to bring any laboratory or radiograph studies to the appointments. Many referring physicians send the interpretation, but the xrays themselves typically have to be hand carried by patients.

 

Spirometry:

This is a measure of lung function. It takes a good deal of cooperation and is not typically done until age 5 or 6. Patients blow into a tube that is connected to a computer and measures how much and how fast air is coming from the lungs. It is probably best to avoid eating or drinking much directly before performing this test. Each test is done with a disposable unit so there is no risk of contamination from other patients.

 

Environmental Allergy testing:

There is more than one way to do Allergy testing, but the most common is skin testing. It has more of a functional test rather than just a laboratory evaluation. To perform the testing, small pricks are used, each containing a different antigen (possible allergy inducing chemical). Then after a standard period, the prick site is evaluated for reaction.

 

Positive and negative controls are used for comparison. Antihistamines block the reaction and need to be avoided for 3-5 days prior to testing. Many of the over the counter cough and cold preparations have antihistamine, so it is important that if in question, ask whether it is appropriate to use before testing to avoid having to retest.

 

Education:

Educating our patients and parents is a vital part of our practice.  We have an "Education Room" in our facility designed for you to watch specially recorded DVDs to give you information about your child's specific needs. 

 

You will be given a chance to take notes, and then following the session, you will meet again and be able to ask questions. If time doesn’t permit you to finish or for a refresher, most of these sessions will be available on this website and may be downloaded for review.

 

If there is a diagnosis or suspicion of asthma, you should receive a written asthma action plan at discharge. This is a step-by-step instruction guide as to what to do when you/your child starts to have an increase in symptoms.

 

Take this sheet and put it where it will be easy to access when needed. It is also important to get the medicines filled as they are typically needed at the most inconvenient time.

What is Asthma?

Asthma overview

Our Location

IPAA - Dr Scott Sheets

7029 Vista Drive

West Des Moines, IA  50266

DIRECTIONS

 

(O)  515-868-0220

(F)  515-223-3022

EMAIL

 

Office hours are 8-4:30pm M-F

Please call to make an appointment

PATIENT FORMS

Click here to print patient information forms out, complete  them, and email them back to us prior to your visit.

Information for Parents

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© 2016 Iowa Pediatric Asthma & Allergy