It can be difficult for any parent to send their young child off back to school, especially during a pandemic, but imagine if your child had asthma. You probably would never want to let him or her out of your sight, but that’s unrealistic. The last thing in the world you’d want to happen is for your child to have an asthma attack at school and you’re not there!
The reality is that approximately 6.8 million children are living with asthma, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Furthermore, Black children are nearly 2x more likely to have asthma compared to white children.
BlackDoctor.org understands your concerns as a parent of a child who has asthma, so I spoke with Dr. Bola Oyeyipo, a family physician in San Antonio, Texas and co-founder of Healthgist.com to bring you these five tips to help keep your child safe and healthy this year and for many more years to come.
READ: Why Asthma Is 6 Times More Lethal For Black Children
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How to manage asthma in a child
These are 5 things you should know for managing your child’s asthma:
1. Inform your child’s school.
Sit down and have a one-on-one conversation with your child’s teacher, the school nurse, the principal, and whoever else will be interacting with your child daily. Let him or her know how severe your child’s asthma is and what his or her triggers are.
“Most schools require a doctor’s note stating what medications a pupil is on, how often should he or she use the medication, and the indication for the medication. This record is usually kept in the school records for the nurse to access as needed,” Dr. Oyeyipo explains. “To keep your child suffering from asthma safe at school, it’s imperative that the medication form is filled out and on file with the school, so they can intervene if and when your child suffers an asthma attack on the school campus.”
2. Talk to your child.
Depending on how young your child is, you will need to explain his or her condition in a way that he or she can understand and explain to others if necessary. “Educate your child on how to spot his or her asthma flare-up and what steps to take when this happens, such as notifying the class teacher or going to see the school nurse or self-administration of an inhaler,” Dr. Oyeyipo advises.
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3. You can never be too safe.
Although many kids look forward to gym class, a half-hour of physical activity can be absolutely grueling and potentially deadly for someone with asthma, especially if it’s exercise-induced asthma. “Be sure to make the school aware, so that a bronchodilator inhaler (albuterol) can be administered before taking part in PE or sports activities,” Dr. Oyeyipo says.
READ: How To Protect Your Child From Common Asthma Triggers
4. Don’t skip out on key vaccinations.
Dr. Oyeyipo says the flu shot can be key when it comes to managing asthma: “Make sure your child is immunized against the flu when flu season rolls around in order to limit asthma flare-ups.”
5. Consider other options.
Feel like your child’s asthma isn’t improving? Then it may be time to talk with the doctor about the possibility of trying some new options. “If your child requires the use of a rescue inhaler like albuterol at least once daily, it’s advisable to see his or her doctor to see if adding a daily steroid inhaler would be indicated for better control of the asthma,” Dr. Oyeyipo says.
