How many times have you been called from school for your sick child? It’s a constant struggle – balancing home and work commitments- for working as well as stay-at-home parents. One of the common reasons for the call could be uncontrolled asthma. More than 10 million missed school days are attributed to asthma. However, controlling your child’s asthma can decrease absenteeism and increase their academic performance. This will also allow parents to remain at work. The best way to control asthma at school is to create an asthma action plan for your child. This plan could be a great way of communication between parents, physicians and school. An asthma action plan is a step-by-step treatment plan tailored to a child’s asthma. This can help the school nurses help determine the right treatment to manage asthma at school when it needs additional attention without alerting the parents. An asthma action plan consists of three main parts: Assessment of the Child –Specific signs and symptoms are laid out for the caregiver to accurately assess the severity of asthma. For example, are they wheezing or coughing or unable to participate in physical activity without chest tightness? Reading from the peak flow meter are pre-written by the physician. The caregiver can compare these readings and objectively determine the severity of child’s asthma. Administration of Treatment – Proper treatment, based on the assessment of the child, is written for the caregiver to follow. Reassessment of the Child – The signs and symptoms of the child must be reassessed after administration of the treatment. Detailed questioning vs. observation and peak flow meter is utilized at this time. If no improvement, the plan asks to call for additional medical attention. An asthma action plan is prepared individually for every child and requires the help of a child’s physician. This ensures that the plan has all the important details and is prepared accurately. We, at the The Allergy Group, provide asthma action plan to all asthma children who visit with us! This ensures decreased missed work days for working parents or busy stay-at-home parents!
Another call from school for your child’s shortness of breath?– We can help!
