About

Alex Thomas MD

Alex Thomas MD, a board-certified pediatric allergist, created Iggy and The Inhalers. Alex is a practicing allergist at the Center for Asthma & Allergy in Chicago. This project is designed for people just like the patients and families that he helps everyday.

Background

In 1993, 12-year-old Alex created Iggy for an asthma support group for his mother (a pediatric allergist). The young cartoonist had no idea that years later his drawings would help his own patients -- and thousands of others -- learn about asthma!

When Alex began his medical residency at the University of Wisconsin he realized that his old friend Iggy might be a useful tool for the families he was seeing in clinic. Now a pediatric allergist himself, Dr. Alex Thomas sees how useful Iggy and the Inhalers has been with his own patients and is happy to be sharing his education program with patients, parents and health care providers around the country.

Why Comics?

We believe kids can retain a great depth of knowledge about topics that interest them. Think about how much a six or seven-year old can tell you about topics like planets, dinosaurs or Pokemon. Iggy and The Inhalers aims to give kids very serious and complex information, but packaged in a fun easy-to-follow format.

Read more about why comics can improve heatlh communication and patient education.

Research, Presentations, and Press

Iggy is research-tested and kid-approved! After several iterations, including feedback from patients, input from asthma educators, and evaluation studies, Iggy and The Inhalers patient education materials officially launched in 2015 and is used by hospitals, clinics, schools, and public health departments across the USA. Read about the research, our conference presentations, and our press coverage.

Awards and History

We are proud of the awards, achievements, and other recognition earned by Iggy and The Inhalers over the years.

• In 2016, Iggy received a "Best in Show" award from the National Health Information Awards!
• Iggy recently won the "multimedia category" in the American Public Health Association's annual 2015 Public Health Education and Health Promotion Materials Contest.
• In 2015, The Consortium on Children's Asthma Camps distributed the comics, trading cards, inhaler labels, and posters to 3,000 children at 50 camps nationwide.
• Iggy and the Inhalers was also included in the The American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology’s 2015 presidential initiative on school-based asthma education.

Booster Shot Media

The materials are produced and distributed by Booster Shot Media. Alex Thomas MD is board-certified in pediatrics, allergy, and immunology and is a cartoonist and illustrator with more than 20 years experience. Gary Ashwal is a health communication specialist and producer of TV commercials, videos, and marketing content for major healthcare organizations. We also work with other artists, healthcare professionals and researchers on specific projects.