Every year, there’s a peak in admissions for children having an asthma attack in September. The cause of this is not clear, but it’s believed that when children return to school they’re exposed to a number of new environmental factors that can trigger an asthma attack. Children are also exposed to new viruses which can be another trigger of an asthma attack. If children with asthma return to school with their lungs in the best possible condition, then an asthma attack maybe prevented.
NHS staff encourage children with asthma to attend their GP practice for an asthma review during the school holidays. This gives the nurse or doctor the opportunity to review their medication, check their inhaler technique and give them a personal asthma action plan. Pupils will then be able to bring a copy of that updated asthma action plan into school in September; this will give us the information we need to support pupils with their asthma in school – this could prevent an asthma attack.