Pregnant asthma sufferers
For more confidence in coping with asthma.
Keeping asthma in check – for mom and baby
Recognizing the threat of a wheezing fit in good time is doubly important for moms-to-be. That’s because an asthma attack can also harm your unborn baby. Vivatmo me allows you to measure the degree of inflammation in your lower airways from the comfort of your own home. And take appropriate precautions.
The handy device for home use measures the so-called FeNO value. Vivatmo me is simplicity itself to use and delivers reliable results within seconds.
Emma has tested Vivatmo me
“For me, my baby comes first.”
Emma, 29, is looking forward to the birth of her first child. But she’s got one worry on her mind: the mom-to-be suffers from asthma and she knows that her chronic illness can affect her unborn daughter. “My baby is the most important thing in the world to me. She’s the reason I have to keep healthy so that I can bring her into the world safely and be there to look after her. That’s why I’m doing everything I can to ensure we stay healthy. Vivatmo me is a huge help.”
How Vivatmo me works
Hold the device to your lips like a flute and breathe out evenly through the disposable mouthpiece. Don’t worry; it’s perfectly safe for your baby. The LED display on the device shows you whether you are blowing too gently, too hard or just right. The measurement only takes a few seconds. After successful measurement, you can read the results immediately. The traffic light colors show you the range of your FeNO values. This helps you decide how much to take on today.
Answers to frequently asked questions
FeNO measurment is simple and non-invasive. All you need to do is breathe out evenly for 10 seconds through the single-use mouthpiece into the measuring device to measure the inflammatory marker NO (nitric oxide) in your exhaled breath. This does not pose any risk either to you or your baby. Even if you inadvertently breathe in again via the mouthpiece no harmful chemicals or germs can enter your airways.
When you’re pregnant it’s especially important that your asthma is well controlled. It goes without saying that an asthma attack during pregnancy poses greater risks for you and your unborn baby than appropriate, if necessary more intensive, asthma management. What’s more, most asthmatics experience a change in their asthma patterns during pregnancy, making it necessary to either reduce or intensify their basic anti-inflammatory therapy.
It’s therefore especially important to monitor your asthma carefully and closely during this time and adapt your treatment where appropriate. Regular FeNO measurement provides you and your doctor with valuable information about the present degree of inflammation of your airways, providing a feeling of security for you and your baby!
The FeNO values show you whether your asthma medication (usually inhaled corticosteroids) is effective and how severe the allergic inflammatory response of your lungs currently is. Like this, the degree of inflammation can be closely controlled and your treatment adjusted accordingly in consultation with your doctor. To supplement your Vivatmo me you can also download the Vivatmo app. This digital asthma diary is an easy way to manage your measured FeNO results. With the Vivatmo app you are always optimally informed and have a handle on the progression of your asthma.
The app also provides regional pollen flight information, which you can display in a monthly overview together with your FeNO values and other health data and share with your physician. Like this, you and your doctor have all the relevant information for managing your therapy.
Australian studies have shown the benefits of FeNO-adjusted therapy management for pregnant asthmatics and their children (Powell et al. Lancet 2011, Morten et al. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2018). The group taking regular FeNO measurements suffered 50 percent fewer asthma attacks. Furthermore, their children developed early childhood asthma 40 percent less often.
Regular medical check-ups are the basis of any good asthma treatment and the Vivatmo me device cannot be a substitute for a doctor. However, well-managed and individually adjusted asthma therapy should be able to keep exacerbations and acute flare-ups at bay, avoiding the need for unplanned or emergency doctor’s visits.
