Managing asthma and asthma attacks at school can be less mysterious and more safe. Meet with key school staff, including the principal and teacher, to inform them of your child\’s asthma. File your child\’s asthma-treatment plan with the school health office and give extra copies to teachers and coaches.

The plan should detail how to contact you and your child\’s physician; factors that make your child\’s asthma worse; warning symptoms that lead up to an attack; a list and schedule of medications; and instructions for handling an asthma episode. Note carefully which situations require a call to a parent, and which require emergency care.

Fill out any authorization forms to make sure that your child has asthma medications within reach. Be sure to leave an inhaler at the school. Ask your pharmacists to help you label all medications — both the box and the inhaler itself — with your child\’s name, teacher\’s name, and dosage.

Educate school staff about how a peak-flow meter takes the guesswork out of gauging the severity of a child\’s symptoms. The school may find the device helpful in deciding whether your youngster is able to participate in an activity.

Ask the teacher or school to remove any triggers — a classroom pet, for example. List foods that your child should avoid. Consider leaving a packet of treats in the classroom so that your youngster does not feel left out during holiday or birthday parties at school and try to minimize your child\’s feelings of being \”different.\”

Have your child\’s doctor write a letter to inform the gym teacher that your youngster has asthma; the letter should particularly note if attacks are triggered by exercise or cold air. Some gym teachers who know little about the disease may think a child is using asthma as an excuse to get out of physical activity. Quick-relief medications must always be handy during gym classes, recess, and class outings.

Asthma shouldn\’t stop your child from being active. Simple steps make play asthma-safe. Children with asthma often restrict physical activity for fear of triggering an attack, but they can and should be active to stay healthy. When asthma is well-controlled, children and teens can usually play the full range of sports. Be aware, though, that intense, sustained sports, such as running or basketball, are more likely to provoke symptoms.

Modify physical activities so that children with asthma can participate. If running triggers symptoms, perhaps a child may alternate running and walking.

Warm-up and cool-down periods can help prevent exercise-induced asthma. Watch out for potential triggers, such as a freshly mowed field or refinished gym floor. In such cases, it\’s best to move an activity to another area temporarily.

Children may benefit from attending asthma camps, which get kids involved in sports and put them in touch with other children who have asthma. These camps also have 24-hour medical supervision. Contact your local American Lung Association office for information.

Siblings & Asthma

Often, even the most caring siblings begin to resent the time and attention that parents give to a child with asthma. To draw attention to themselves, siblings may misbehave or get into trouble outside the home. Siblings may also worry that they\’ll trigger an attack if they argue or fight with the asthmatic child, or they may fret about catching asthma themselves. They may be concerned about the way their family appears \”different.\”

Parents who are aware of these dynamics can help all their children cope with asthma in the family. Parents can reassure their non-asthmatic children that they are loved just as much as the child with asthma, and that they can\’t \”catch\” asthma. Scheduling a special activity with each child helps to convey caring.

Reassure your child with asthma that he or she did not cause the disease, and include the child in as much of daily life as possible, including sharing of chores. If family tensions become so intense that they interfere with asthma treatment, consider getting professional counseling.

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Category: Medicines and Remedies
Keywords: asthma, health, healthcare