Asthma is a chronic disease, yet symptoms do not always manifest. We cannot completely control when and where asthma symptoms appear. Keeping an asthmatic child in the classroom as much as possible is important to the child’s success. To accomplish this goal, pulmonary doctors try to establish solid communication with all school personnel who may interact with the child, since faculty and school staff may have never worked with asthmatic children previously. A recent survey showed that teachers in large metropolitan school systems display a very mixed understanding of asthma and what they should expect from asthmatic children. Teachers and school staff need to know:
Doctors advise parents to inform teachers as to how their child is to use asthma medications, inhalers, spacers, and peak flow meters at school. Faculty must also know when it is necessary to contact a child’s parents or doctor. Teachers interact with your children throughout the majority of the student’s day; so the impact they have on your child’s success is immeasurable. Generate a positive informative interaction with the school’s personnel to keep the lines of communication open. Schools want to help you keep your child’s attendance as regular as possible, because they care about his/her success. Inform them of how well your child can manage his/her asthma on his/her own, and when it is necessary to contact you or your child’s pulmonary doctor. Do not bury them under and avalanche of responsibilities they cannot meet while maintaining a classroom full of children.
Discuss the difference between an acute episode that requires immediate attention versus mild daily symptoms.
Give them a written list of asthma triggers that affect your child. This can help the teacher when planning activities.
Provide a list of medications and how they are to be used as well as their possible side-effects.
Provide well-labeled medications to the school’s nurse or home room teacher.
Provide a peak flow meter, plus the ranges and indications for certain medications based on the child's Asthma Action Plan.
Demonstrate how the child will use his/her inhaler, spacer, nebulizer, or peak flow meter.
Let them know when you should be called as well as when the doctor should be notified. Provide the phone numbers.
Exercise-induced bronchospasm occurs in nearly all asthmatics and can generally be managed with an inhaler before the activity. Make sure the school personnel are aware when and why the child needs his/her asthma medications before exercise. A short-acting rescue inhaler should be used at least 15 to 20 minutes before asthma triggering activities. Advise the student’s physical education instructor that the child needs to be restricted from exercise, if the student’s asthma is unstable. The winter’s cold air may deteriorate well-controlled asthma in children, if they frequently play outside. During the summer, traversing between the cool air-conditioned indoors and the outdoor heat often causes a similar response. When asthma is well-controlled exercise is encouraged so that the asthmatic can build endurance. Being able to participate with peers and accomplish the same physical goals is important to the child's sense of self-esteem.
