Managing asthma in school-age children has its challenges for parents and children. Asthma and school do not need to be a source of stress for those involved. Preparation before the school year and making adjustments as necessary can ensure that problems are prevented or handled quickly.

Asthma inhalers may be kept on the child or in the school nurse’s office depending on the age of the child and school policy. A parent should make sure that the child has an extra asthma inhaler that can remain at home while one is used at school. Therefore, if the asthma inhaler has to stay in the nurse’s office or if the child were to lose or forget the inhaler at school, it will not affect asthma management at home.

Before school on the first day the child spends at school after being diagnosed with asthma, the parent should accompany the child to take the medication to the nurse’s office and fill out any necessary paperwork. Even if the child is old enough to keep their inhaler with them, the nurse is usually required to have a parental signature and information about the medication. Nurses are required to have forms filled out for administering any medication. If possible, daily medications for asthma management should be taken before or after school hours. This will help limit the amount of time the child needs to spend at the nurse’s office.

The child’s teachers should be aware of the signs of asthma. The parent should discuss the child’s symptoms and needs with the teachers. If the child has any special instructions from the doctor, such as taking a dose of the inhaler before physical education class, the teachers should be made aware of these instructions.

Some government agencies and health-related organizations have asthma management information for schools. The American Lung Association has an asthma-friendly schools initiative which is a planning tool for making sure that the needs of children with asthma are safely met. This material provides guidelines schools can use to assess their ability to keep children with asthma safe.

Parents should make sure that the school nurse has the child’s physician’s contact information. The parents should also know what would happen in the event of an asthma emergency such as when emergency services would be called and to which hospital the child would be taken. Another responsibility of the parent is to ensure that the school nurse always has a phone number where a parent can be reached.