Respiratory Wellness: Why We Want to See Your Child When They Are Healthy 🫁
It happens every spring: a child hasn't coughed or wheezed in months, so their parents kindly call to cancel their follow-up appointment. It makes sense, right? Why go to the doctor if your child isn't sick?
In pediatric pulmonology, the "well visit" is actually the most important appointment of the year.
Asthma and reactive airway diseases are chronic inflammatory conditions. Just because the outward symptoms (like a cough or wheeze) have disappeared doesn't mean the microscopic airway inflammation is fully gone. When we only see your child during an emergency flare-up, we are forced to play defense. Seeing them when they are healthy allows us to play offense.
During a "Well" Follow-Up at CLAPS, we:
Perform Objective Testing: We run in-office Pulmonary Function Tests (PFTs) to ensure their lungs are genuinely clear, not just "quiet." (And remember, because we are a private clinic, you never pay those massive hospital facility fees for these tests!)
Plan Medication Holidays: If the data shows their lungs are stable, this is the exact visit where we build a safe, structured plan to step down or pause their daily medications for the summer.
Prep for the Next Season: We adjust Action Plans before fall sports or peak allergy seasons trigger an unexpected late-night ER visit.
We love seeing healthy kids. Let’s use those follow-up visits to celebrate their progress and keep them thriving!
Family Fun Find: The Montclair Earth Fest & Celebration 🌎
Looking for a fantastic way to celebrate Earth Day with the kids? The Northeast Coalition is hosting a massive, week-long Earth Day Celebration from April 18th to the 26th, in Montclair
It is completely free and packed with outdoor, family-friendly events, including the Official Earth Day Celebration at the Pine Street Community Garden, a special movie screening of "The Little Things That Run The World," and hands-on fun at the Crane Park Pollinator Garden and Montclair Earth Fest.
Movie: The Little Things That Run The World
Date: April 18th – 26th
Montclair, NJ
(learn more on the Northeast Coalition website)
🗣️ Ask Dr. Farri: The Inhaler "Addiction" Myth 🌬
Q: "Dr. Farri, if we use the inhaler too much, will my child become addicted to it?"
A: I hear this question so often when I first prescribe an inhaler, or when a parent shares why they have been hesitant to use one. Please be reassured: asthma inhalers are completely non-habit-forming. They do not cause any chemical dependency!
However, if you find that your child needs their rescue inhaler frequently, it does not mean they are addicted to it—it means their underlying airway inflammation is uncontrolled.
If you are reaching for that rescue inhaler often, that is your signal that it is time for a specialist's evaluation so we can get to the root cause of the inflammation and get their asthma properly controlled.
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