Doctor Creates Superheroes To Teach Kids About Asthma, Allergies
(CBS) -- Superman, Spiderman, Batman are well known superheroes. Now you can add another one to the list: inhaler man. Well, Iggy the Inhaler to be exact.
CBS 2's Mai Martinez shows us how he's helping kids breathe easier.
A consultation combined with illustration, not your usual doctor's visit, but it's Dr. Alex Thomas' unique approach to helping young patients understand asthma and allergies.
The Presence Health allergist was inspired by his childhood love of comics.
"I started drawing these characters as a child with asthma myself as a way to kind of help understand how my own disease was affecting me," Dr. Thomas said.
The result: a line of comics, posters, videos, stickers and even trading cards starring superheroes like Iggy the Inhaler, Broncho The Bronchodilator and Coltron The Controller--all fighting villain-allergens like The Roach, Smokey Joe, Moldar and Pollenoid, the Dust Mite and Hairy.
"My belief is that kids actually are pretty smart and they can understand this mechanism of action stuff if you teach it in a fun way," Thomas said.
The characters and comics are a big hit with young patients like 11-year-old Abigail Burgos.
"I just like the characters that he added in," she said. "It helps me because it shows you what happening inside your body.
Abigail says it's different than other doctors because, "It's a lot easier to understand and it's like you can just kick back and just read it."
Dr. Thomas also created comics dealing with other health topics like pediatric pain management and concussions.
If you'd like more information on his comics, visit iggyandtheinhalers.com.
