LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, an asthma attack can occur when exposed to things in the environment such as house dust mites, tobacco smoke and more. They’re called asthma triggers.
That’s why former NFL player, Icky Woods, held a community event called the Jovante Woods Family Asthma Awareness Day” to help get children tested for asthma for free Saturday.
Woods’ son, Jovante, died from an asthma attack 13 years ago. Jovante was only 16.
Since then, the Jovante Woods Foundation was created to keep people aware of the dangers of asthma. Also, to get what could be asthma diagnosed right away.
“We’re trying to get these kids so if they do have asthma, hopefully we can educate their parents how to treat asthma and how to deal with asthma,” said Woods.
At Saturday’s event, there was free food, medical education, music, haircuts and more. Channel 13 was a proud partner of Saturday’s event.
Dignity Health was there to conduct free asthma tests.
“You want to talk to your doctor if you notice any chest tightness, any coughing, wheezing you hear in your lungs. Especially if you wake up in the middle of night gasping to breathe,” said Laurie Rogers, diagnostic pulmonary function technologist with Dignity Health.
Rogers says those are some of the signs that you could have asthma. She says treatments are not just using an inhaler and "calling it good." She says in order to control asthma., taking medication as instructed by your doctor and also actively avoiding triggers that cause an attack.
There is no cure.
“Most kids don’t know how to deal with asthma. Even if they know they have it, they don’t how to deal with it, because they haven’t been educated,” said Woods.
Woods says he grew up with asthma himself. That’s also why he holds these events because people might not know they have the disease, especially kids in who play sports.
He says asthma tests should be a part of a standard physical for those in school sports.
