If your child has asthma, you probably dread summer flare-ups.
While you can typically rely on teachers and the school nurse during the school year, summer asthma attacks can occur when a knowledgeable adult isn't nearby - at a sleepover, at the pool, when your child is away at camp or on the playground, for example.
If you worry about letting your child take care of his asthma when he's out of sight, you're not alone. If you always do everything for your child, he may rely on you too much and find it harder to cope should he have to handle an asthma emergency without you. That's why it's important to teach your child how to handle an asthma flare-up on his own, just in case.
Start with a written plan
Ask your child's doctor to help you create a written asthma action plan.
Using an asthma action plan is important if your child's asthma is moderate or severe, or if he's had a serious asthma attack in the past. Written action plans make it easier to measure whether your child's asthma is under control and what to do when it isn't.
Prescribed medicines can prevent asthma attacks, but according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about half of children who are prescribed asthma control medicines don't use them regularly. If your child uses a flow meter to measure how his lungs are working day to day, you should add his "personal best" reading to the plan for comparison to new readings. It is important to teach your child how to handle an asthma flare-up on his own, just in case.
Share the plan with your child
It's important to carefully go over the action plan with your child. Don't assume he'll know what to do if you're not around. Start talking about the action plan when your child is very young so he learns to cope on his own. This will give her confidence and control.
Start with small steps when your child is young. Teach him how to use his medications (including a spacer) properly, and to keep inhalers and medicines in a special place. He should also record symptoms on a special calendar. As he gets older he should remember on his own to take medicines and preventive inhalers and to carry them everywhere.
Pass on a positive attitude so your child gets comfortable talking to others about his asthma.
Helping children feel comfortable about telling their friends and those around them about their triggers can also involve role playing-demonstrating how to ask a friend's parent not to smoke or how to tell a camp counselor to not use scented air freshener, for example. Also, speak with your child about the proper way to tell an adult he is having breathing problems.
It's important to list your child's asthma triggers on his action plan as a reminder to avoid them. These may include:
- Irritants
- Smoke from a campfire
- Air pollution/ozone/air quality-keep an eye on this daily
- Perfume
- Hairspray
- Air freshener
- Tobacco smoke
- The smell given off by paint or gas
- Allergens
- Mildew or black mold in a shower
- Dander from a furry dog or cat
- Animal saliva
- Feathers
- Dusty places
- Freshly cut grass or weeds
- Weather conditions
- Wind that stirs up pollen and molds
- Very cold or very hot weather
- Humidity
The good news is CDC has noted an increase in the number of children who have asthma action plans. Recent data from the agency also show from 2001 to 2016, children with asthma in the United States had fewer asthma attacks, missed less school and had fewer visits to the hospital.
Source: Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
The Monroe County Board of Education building at 25 Brooklyn Avenue will be renovated beginning this summer. The next Board of Education meeting will be Tuesday, June 12 at the Fine Arts Center. We will recognize 2017-2018 school year retirees that evening. All other upcoming meetings are scheduled to be held at the Monroe County Education Center until further notice. Day-to-day business will be conducted at the 25A Brooklyn Avenue building, the Board of Education Annex. If you have questions, please contact our main line at 478-994-2031.
At the Georgia School Boards Association Conference last week in Savannah, the Monroe County Board of Education was recognized as a Distinguished Board of Education, an honor bestowed to school boards which show ethics, fiscal responsibility, strategic planning, self-assessment, superintendent evaluation, and support for the
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These are just a few of the summertime activities happening in our system. Follow us on Twitter at
Monroe County Schools Summer Literacy Website is open! Find book lists, resources, and suggested activities at our site at
