Back-to-school asthma | News and events

Returning to school after the summer holidays in September is one of the peak times of the year for asthma attacks for children in the UK, which is why the local NHS is urging parents and carers to act now to help keep asthma under control and in check. 

This rise in asthma attacks in September is due to a number of reasons such as children getting out of the habit of using inhalers during the summer holidays, air pollution, cooler weather, and seasonal bugs like cold and flu. Every 20 minutes a child is admitted to hospital because of an asthma attack in the UK, but if a child is on the right asthma treatment, the chance of having an attack is greatly reduced. 

Seven of out 10 people in the UK are missing out on basic asthma care, which means that most people with asthma are not attending yearly reviews, have not had their inhaler technique checked and do not have an asthma action plan. NHS Cambridgeshire & Peterborough are urging local parents and carers to take the following steps to help their child: 

1. Schedule an asthma review every year and after every attack – children with asthma should have an asthma review every year at their GP practice, contact your practice to book. 
2. Get an asthma action plan in place – if your child is asthmatic and does not have an action plan in place, then book an asthma review. 
3. Understand how to use inhalers correctly – the asthma review will check you and your child know how to use inhalers correctly and can offer support to improve technique. 
4. Consider air pollution and its impact on lung health – every asthma conversation should include indoor and outdoor air pollution. 

Dr Karena Fraser, Clinical Lead for children and young people’s asthma, NHS Cambridgeshire & Peterborough said, “Asthma should not limit children and young people’s lives in any way and good asthma control means having few or no symptoms. Sadly, many people with asthma do not know how to recognise that their asthma is getting worse and what to do about it. 

“Help take control of your child’s asthma by contacting your GP practice for your child’s yearly asthma review which can help with inhaler advice and technique, and get an asthma plan in place which tells you which medicines to take each day, what to do what to do if your asthma symptoms get worse and what to do if you have an asthma attack.” 

For more information please visit the Asthma Action Plan page on the Asthma and Lung UK website.