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Why
schools should be concerned about asthma
[Click
on the asterisk next to shaded terms for definitions.]
If you work in a school serving
children in grades K-12, you need a basic understanding about asthma.
Here's why:
Asthma can be life-threatening!
- Asthma symptoms can get
out of control, causing what's commonly called an asthma
attack< a href="../index.html" onClick="MM_openBrWindow('../glossary/asthmaepisode.htm','termepisode','scrollbars=yes,width=420,height=300')">
 ,
or more accurately, an asthma episode< a href="../index.html" onClick="MM_openBrWindow('../glossary/asthmaepisode.htm','termepisode','scrollbars=yes,width=420,height=300')">
- A child can die from a bad
asthma episode
- An asthma episode may come
on suddenly, requiring school staff to respond to a life-threatening
emergency
- Most asthma episodes can
be prevented with proper care and attention along with clear communication
between parents and school staff
Asthma is an epidemic!
- Asthma is the most common
chronic childhood disease [4]
- At least five million children
in America have asthma [1]
- Nearly one in 13 school-aged
children has asthma [2]
- Asthma in children has increased
significantly in both numbers and severity over the past 15 years [5]
- Asthma is the leading cause
of hospitalizations among children [6]
Asthma affects academic
performance!
- Over 10 million school days
are missed each year by school children experiencing asthma-related
problems [3]
- Children with asthma make
more than 2.7 million physician visits annually [8]
- Children and teens whose
nighttime sleep is disrupted by asthma symptoms can have greater difficulty
with schoolwork
- Missed sleep due to nighttime
asthma can cause children to have poor recall memory, lack of concentration
and mood swings
- Some medications have side
effects which may interfere with a student's ability to concentrate
or participate in school activities
Schools CAN make a difference
for kids with asthma!
- Asthma education is available
for all school personnel from a variety of sources
- Early intervention by school-based
health care workers often sends students with asthma problems back to
class instead of sending them to the emergency room
- Controlling environmental
allergens< a href="../index.html" onClick="MM_openBrWindow('../glossary/allergen.htm','termallergen','scrollbars=yes,width=400,height=300')">
helps students with asthma
- Every student with asthma
should have an asthma action plan< a href="../index.html" onClick="MM_openBrWindow('../glossary/asthmaactionplan.htm','termactionplan','scrollbars=yes,width=400,height=300')">
on file with the school nurse. This individualized plan explains how
to handle a child's specific medical needs at school plus it outlines
how to handle asthma for a student in special situations, such as field
trips
- Providing school-based asthma
education programs for students, parents and caregivers is highly useful
in helping children and young people with asthma
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