What if you could lower your child’s risk of an asthma attack with a single text message?

It sounds too good to be true, but according to a recent study by the Georgia Institute of Technology, pediatric patients who were asked about their symptoms and provided with tips for managing their asthma demonstrated better pulmonary function and greater knowledge of their condition than those who didn’t.

In the study, researchers randomly assigned 30 asthmatic children between the ages of 10 and 17 into one of three groups—a control group that did not receive texts, a group that received texts every other day, and a group that received daily texts. The text messages typically consisted of questions about their symptoms, as well as general information about asthma.

After four months, participants held follow-up meetings with their physicians. The researchers reported improved pulmonary function and medical awareness in the groups that regularly received text messages, when compared to those that didn’t.

In other words, cell phones just might be one of the strongest weapons in the fight against asthma.

Cell phone usage among tweens and teens has been rapidly increasing over the past several months. According to a report released by the Pew Research Center last March, more than half (53 percent) of children aged 12 to 17 have a cell phone. One quarter (23 percent) use a smartphone. And they check their phones constantly; the participants in the Georgia Tech study responded to text messages 87 percent of the time, typically within 22 minutes.

Read more about texting for asthma attacks at BlackHeathMatters.Com.

BET Health News - We go beyond the music and entertainment world to bring you important medical information and health-related tips of special relevance to Blacks in the U.S. and around the world. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter. 

Get ready for the BET Experience, featuring Beyoncé, Snoop Dogg, R. Kelly, Erykah Badu, Kendrick Lamar and many more. Go here for more details and info on how to buy tickets. Register now to attend free film screenings, celebrity basketball games and more.

(Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)