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Just to be safe, Noemi Vazquez keeps inhalers in almost every room of her house. She stashes them in her kitchen cupboard, a couple in her purse, one in the bathroom, and, of course, by her bedside.

And then there's the large, black Puma knapsack where she keeps her nebulizer, several inhalers, and the montelukast pills she takes to treat her wheezing. Her four-year-old granddaughter has her own asthma kit - a neon pink and purple Trolls-themed lunch box that holds a small, child-sized nebulizer and a few inhalers. She's smart! She knows: this is her bag," Vazquez said.