Asthma is a chronic disease that affects your airways.  It is characterized by inflammation of the air passages resulting in the temporary narrowing of the airways that transport air from the nose and mouth to the lungs.  Asthma symptoms can be caused/triggered by allergens or irritants that are inhaled into the lungs, resulting in inflamed, clogged and constricted airways. Symptoms include difficulty breathing, wheezing, coughing, and tightness in the chest. When left untreated or improperly treated asthma can be life threatening!¹

Asthma cannot be cured but in most instances it can be controlled with proper treatment.  An adequate understanding of asthma results in better control of this disease process.  Knowing your asthma triggers and avoiding them is one aspect of controlling asthma.  Understanding that peak flow readings can detect early stages of airway inflammation is another form of control.  Know your asthma triggers and your peak flow readings.

School Assistance

Please assist me in helping your child to manage his/her asthma in school by submitting a completed Asthma Action Plan and any necessary medications/equipment that your child may need while in school. 

1. Your child’s physician must sign the Asthma Action Plan.
2. You must sign your child’s Asthma Action Plan.
3. These plans must be renewed at the beginning of each school year in order to assure uninterrupted care for your child. 
4. High school students may carry their inhalers in school only with a physician’s orders and parent signatures on file in the nurse’s office.
5. I encourage you to leave a back-up inhaler in the nurse’s office in the event that your child forgets to bring his/her inhaler to school.  This inhaler must have a pharmacy label on it; consistent with the regulation for all prescription medications.
6. All other equipment should be left in the nurse’s office.

Asthma Facts

1. An estimated 20 million Americans suffer from asthma (1 in 15 Americans).
2. Nearly 5 million asthma sufferers are under age 18. It is the most common chronic childhood disease, affecting more than one child in 20. 
3. Asthma accounts for one-quarter of all emergency room visits in the U.S. each year, with 2 million emergency room visits.
4. Nearly half (44%) of all asthma hospitalizations are for children.²
5. Asthma is the #1 cause of school absenteeism among children accounting for more than 14 million total missed days of school.³

I would also recommend that you enroll your child in the SNAP (Special Needs Alert Program) so that your child is identified with EMS (Emergency Medical Services) providers.  You will find the document identifying this procedure attached below.

Donna L. Watson R.N.

¹ Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America  Asthma Facts and Figures
² Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America  Asthma Facts and Figures
³ CDC. Asthma prevalence, health care use and mortality, 2002. Hyattsville, Maryland: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, National Center for Health Statistics, 2004.