Inhaler

Hello there. My name is Inhaler, and I'm a little puff of help. Have you ever felt a funny tickle in your chest that won't go away? Or maybe it feels like a gentle squeeze that makes it hard to take a big, deep breath. That is what it can feel like to have something called asthma. It can make running and playing feel a little tricky. But that is where I come in. My job is super important. I hold a special, misty medicine inside me. When someone needs me, they give me a little press, and whoosh. I send out a tiny cloud of mist that they can breathe in. This mist travels down into their lungs and helps to open everything up, making that tickle or squeeze go away. It is like magic for your breathing, helping you take happy, easy breaths again.

I was not always around, you know. A long, long time ago, getting breathing medicine was not so easy. Kids and grown-ups had to use big, clunky machines that were stuck at home. Imagine having to stop your game and go inside just to use a big machine to help you breathe. You could not just put one in your backpack and go to the park or on a sleepover. But everything changed in the year 1955 because of a very smart girl. Her name was Susie Maison, and she was 13 years old. Susie had asthma, so she knew all about the big, tricky machines. One day, she was watching her mom use hairspray from a can and had a brilliant idea. A little lightbulb went on in her head. She turned to her dad, George Maison, and asked him a simple question that would change the world for millions of people. 'Dad,' she said, 'why can't my medicine be in a spray can like this?'. Her dad was the president of a company called Riker Laboratories, where lots of smart scientists worked. He thought his daughter's question was amazing. He realized she was right. Why couldn't it be that simple? He rushed to his team of scientists and told them all about Susie's wonderful idea. They were so excited and got to work right away to turn her smart question into me.

The scientists worked very hard, and just one year later, in 1956, I was born. I was not a big, clunky machine that had to stay in one room. I was a small, plastic friend with a little metal canister inside, filled with that special mist. I was made to be a travel buddy, small enough to fit in a pocket, a purse, or the side pouch of a backpack. I was ready for any adventure. From that day on, everything was different for people with asthma. Kids could go to soccer practice and score goals, run in the playground with their friends, and climb to the very top of trees without worrying so much. If their chest started to feel that little squeeze, they knew their pocket-sized friend was right there to help. I gave people freedom to go wherever they wanted. I gave them confidence to live big, full lives. And you know what? I am still here today, a trusted friend to millions of kids and grown-ups all over the world, helping them take big, happy, wonderful breaths every single day.