Expert asthma team reminding parents to be cautious of back-to-school asthma attacks
With all children and young people returning to school in March, it’s now more important than ever to follow vital advice to ensure those with asthma remain symptom free and their condition well controlled.
Around 1.1. million children in the UK have asthma, equating to 1 in 11 children and every ten seconds, someone is having a potentially life-threatening asthma attack.
Prasad Nagakumar, Paediatric Respiratory Consultant at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, said: “Every year, we see a spike in asthma attacks in children across the UK when they go back to school in September and during the winter months.
“However, due to the pandemic and lockdown measures, many children have stayed at home most of the winter and it is important that your asthma is well managed to reduce the risk of a back to school asthma attack.”
Our expert team have put together the following support and advice for any children or young people with asthma who are returning to school this month.
It is important to both follow the below, as well as all the current COVID-19 recommendations.
Take your preventer
- Continue to take/give the preventer inhaler every day even if there are no asthma symptoms
- If you keep forgetting or have stopped having the preventer, it is even more important to start taking the preventer inhaler ASAP as recommended, even if there are no asthma symptoms.
Know your asthma plan
- Make sure you/your child knows what to do when asthma symptoms worsen
- Make sure the school has an up-to-date asthma action plan
- Make sure you know what makes asthma worse
Make sure there is a reliever (blue) inhaler in school
- Don’t forget to order spare blue inhaler if needed ASAP from your GP
- Always remember to use with the spacer (you may need to order a spare spacer for school)
Many young people have experienced mental health issues during the lockdown, as well as more asthma symptoms as a consequence of loss of routine, spending more time indoors in humid conditions and loss of exercise.
Children and young people are reminded to reach out to their parents, health professionals or school for support. We are all here to support you.