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Asthma at School

Role of the Teacher

Identify the high-risk students with asthma:

  • Previous life-threatening episodes
  • Three or more emergency room visits in one year
  • Prior hospitalizations within one year
  • History of non-adherence to asthma treatment regimen
  • Recurrent nighttime asthma requiring medications
  • Know the early warning signs
  • Have a copy of the students Asthma Action Plan in your classroom
  • Understand the student may feel tired, different from other students, anxious
    about easy access to medications, embarrassed about asthma, worried about
    activities that induce asthma

Asthma Facts

  • Asthma is the most common chronic disease of children
  • There are approximately 22 million people in the USA diagnosed with asthma
  • Asthma is the leading cause of school absenteeism in the United States
  • Children with uncontrolled asthma miss approximately 14 days of school per year
  • Asthma education is a vital component of asthma management
  • Asthma specialists (Allergist, Pulmonologist) are needed to care for mild
    persistent, moderate persistent and severe persistent asthma
  • If properly managed, people with asthma can live a happy, healthy, active life

Early Warning Signs

  • Low peak flows
  • Chronic cough (especially at night)
  • itchy, scratchy, sore throat
  • headache, stopped up head, sneezing
  • shortness of breath with exertion restlessness, more irritable,
    or at even rest
  • dark circles under the eyes
  • restlessness, more irritable
  • increased fatigue
  • tired, itchy watery, glassy eyes

Asthma Action Plan

An action plan is a treatment plan for worsening asthma. The action plan adjusts to the severity of symptoms so that students can control their asthma. People with asthma should have a treatment and management plan developed by their health care team. An Asthma Action Plan is a special road map to know how to take care of asthma each day.

When peak flow rates are:

Green Zone
  • Everything is all "go"
  • 80% or more of what your peak flow rate should be
Yellow Zone
  • Caution
  • 60 to 80% of what your peak flow rate should be
Red Zone
  • Medical emergency - peak flow rates are less than 50% of what it should be

Peak Flow Monitoring

A peak flow meter is a device that measures how well air moves in and out of the lungs. During an asthma episode, the airways become inflamed and narrowed. Many people who take asthma medicine daily use a peak flow meter several times a day.

How to Use the Peak Flow Meter

  • Set the marker to the bottom of the numeric scale.
  • Take a deep breath. Be sure you are standing up.
  • Place your lips tight around the mouthpiece.
  • Talk a big deep breath in.
  • Blow as hard and fast as possible. Blast the air out fast!
  • Note the final position of the marker. This is your peak flow rate.

Inhalers

Metered dose inhaler:

This is a small canister that contains the medication you need to control your asthma or relieve bronchospasms during an asthma episode (Advair HFA, Symbicort, ProAir HFA, Xopenex HFA, Albuterol HFA, Flovent HFA, Q-Var HFA, etc.). Proper inhaler technique must be performed to efficiently receive the medicine.

  1. Shake inhaler and place in your spacer. You may need to remove the inhaler from the canister if your spacer requires no case.
  2. Take 2 or 3 slow and deep warm up breaths.
  3. Sit up straight and be sure you are holding your head looking straight ahead.
  4. Slowly exhale.
  5. Place inhaler in your mouth, and then spray one spray.
  6. Slowly breathe in and hold your breath at least 10 seconds.
  7. Remove the spacer from your mouth and slowly exhale.
  8. Properly place spacer back into your mouth and slowly breathe in again.
  9. Hold your breath at least 10 seconds then slowly exhale.
  10. Wait 1 to 3 minutes and repeat as ordered by your doctor. (Be sure to shake your inhaler again!) Rinse your mouth after using anti-inflammatory medications.

Dry powdered inhalers:

This is medication that is in powder form. (Advair Diskus, Pulmicort Flexhaler, Asmanex, etc.)

  1. Breathe out slowly.
  2. Put your mouth on the mouthpiece.
  3. Take a big deep breath in real fast.
  4. Hold your breath for 10 seconds.
  5. Blow out slowly.

Recent News

SuperUser Account
/ Categories: News

What are the costs of Allergies?

• The cost of nasal allergies is between $3 billion and $4 billion each year.
• Food allergies cost about $25 billion each year.
What Are Indoor and Outdoor Allergies?
• Indoor and outdoor allergies can lead to sinus swelling/pain, itchy/watery eyes,
runny nose, nasal congestion, and sneezing. Airborne allergens can cause
seasonal (sometimes called “hay fever”) or perennial (called “constant”
“persistent”) allergies.
• Many people with allergies often have more than one type of allergy. The most
common indoor/outdoor allergy triggers are: tree pollen, grass pollen, weed
pollen, mold spores, dust mites, cockroaches, cat and dog dander, and rodent
dander.
How Common Are Seasonal Allergies?
• In 2021, approximately 81 million people in the U.S. were diagnosed with seasonal
allergic rhinitis (hay fever). This equals around 26% (67 million) of adults and 19%
(14 million) of children.1,2
• Seasonal allergic rhinitis is an allergic reaction to pollen from trees, grasses, and
weeds. This type of rhinitis occurs mainly when pollen from trees (spring), grasses
(summer), and weeds (fall) are in the air.
• In 2021, non-Hispanic Black children and non-Hispanic White children were more
likely to have a seasonal allergy than Hispanic and non-Hispanic Asian children.
• The same triggers for indoor/outdoor allergies can also cause eye allergies
(allergic conjunctivitis).

The post What are the costs of Allergies? appeared first on Oklahoma Allergy and Asthma Clinic.

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