Get action plan for asthma!

Parents must work alongside teachers to ensure that asthma is better managed in schools and students can have more favourable outcomes.

President of the Asthma Association of Barbados, Rosita Pollard pointed out the above yesterday, as the Association celebrated World Asthma Day with a few activities at its office, located at Shop #3 Tyrol Cot Heritage Village, Codrington Hill, St. Michael.

Pollard stressed that it is important that school personnel have a full understanding of asthma and how it can affect children, so as to reduce the fear and helplessness that often accompanies an asthmatic episode. Parents of asthmatic children should also be encouraged to discuss this chronic respiratory medical condition with the teachers, the principal and the school nurse if one is available and there should be written guidelines and an action plan on the steps to take if a student shows signs of having an asthma attack, such as coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and chest tightness.

“In schools, a lot of people don’t know what to do. Teachers don’t know what to do. So, first of all, when the students are going into school, the parents have to give the teachers and the principals a written (description) of what medical problems the children have, so that the teachers can know. The teachers also have to be educated about asthma. They should have a written plan as to how to manage a student if there is an attack,” Pollard noted.

If a child suffers an asthma attack in school, Pollard said, the most important thing is for everyone to remain calm, as stress and anxiety can make the attack worse. Teachers should be on the alert for warning signs so that the child can be instructed to rest and start early treatment, she also stated.

“Make sure the environment surrounding the child is free of irritants,” she also cautioned.

If the child takes asthma medication via an inhaler and the child’s condition does not improve, Pollard noted that parents should be contacted right away to determine if medical assistance is required. She meanwhile stressed that medical assistance must be sought, in cases where the symptoms including wheezing, shortness of breath and coughing get worse, the child appears to be struggling to talk, walk or breathe, is hunched over and is sucking in their chest and neck muscles in order to breathe, the child’s lips and fingernails turn grey or blue and there is profuse sweating, as it then becomes a medical emergency.