Watching a child struggle to breathe during an asthma attack is frightening for any parent. So it is only natural that most moms and dads will try just about anything--including spending a lot of money--to keep an attack at bay. Trouble is, more than half of parents are trying strategies that simply don't work and wasting hundreds of dollars in the process, according to a study published last week in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
The report, based on interviews with the parents of 896 asthmatic children in 10 different cities, contained some good news. Eighty percent of parents...