How I Kept My Kids Healthy During the September Asthma Peak Week

Now that school is back in session, there is one thing to watch for if you have kids with asthma – the September Asthma Peak Week.

What is Asthma Peak Week?

It’s the third week of September. That week has more asthma hospitalizations than any other time of year.

Why does asthma peak then?

Kids are back in small classrooms with poor ventilation, which means germs are easily spread throughout the room. Kids with asthma can also have asthma attacks from animal dander on other students' clothing. (This happened to my son in second grade, and he had to start allergy shots.)

Students may be exposed to mold and/or they may breathe in exhaust from idling school buses and cars. Ragweed is in full bloom, too, so if your child is allergic to that, it can cause an asthma flare.

How we tried to keep our kids healthy during Asthma Peak Week

After raising 3 kids with asthma, we had a plan to try to keep our kids healthy at school.

Controller inhalers

If your children's doctor has prescribed a controller inhaler to use every morning and every night, make sure your kids take it to school. Nag them if you must. It works as an anti-inflammatory and controls swelling in the lungs.¹

When your lungs are swollen, you cannot see or feel it, just like you cannot feel high blood pressure or high cholesterol. But asthma, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol all need medicine to control them. If you have swelling in your lungs, a simple cold can easily morph into bronchitis or pneumonia – and a hospitalization. And since a controller is NOT fast acting, it takes time to work. So taking it daily is important.¹

Albuterol (fast-acting reliever inhaler)

Make sure you have a refill of this inhaler for the school year. If they are old enough, your child can legally carry and self-administer their inhaler. It is legal in every state in the U.S. to self-carry an inhaler. But you must have a permission form signed by the doctor, a parent or guardian, and a school nurse or principal at the beginning of every school year.²

Asthma Action Plan

Have you talked with your doctor about what to do if your child is in the green, yellow, or red zone for asthma? Each child is different, so you need to know what YOUR child needs. Asthma Action Plans need to be updated every school year so the nurse, teacher, or anyone else helping your child knows what to do.¹

Immunizations

We get the flu shot every fall, and now the COVID-19 vaccine when it is updated. One year, I had influenza A. I started feeling a little off at lunch, and by dinner, I was in the emergency room (ER), where the doctor said my lungs “were full of junk.” He was stunned by how fast it moved and said if I had not been protected by the vaccine, he would have admitted me to the hospital.

Good hygiene

Most teachers do a good job teaching kids to sneeze into their elbows and not their hands. Frequent handwashing is still needed, and hand sanitizer can also help. Since remote learning is more common now, I hope parents will keep their kids home if they are sick with a fever or flu.

Neti Pots

Some people swear by having their kids blow their nose when they come home from school and then use a Neti Pot. This is a nasal irrigation device that can clear out the nose. It may be able to rinse viruses and bacteria out of the nose.

If you use a Neti Pot, follow the directions exactly. Always use purified water or tap water that has been boiled and cooled. In rare cases, using water straight from the tap can result in a dangerous and deadly brain infection.³

Know your school nurse

Our school nurse became familiar with our family full of kids with asthma. Sigh. She is there to help, and she always keeps an eye on kids with asthma, diabetes, or other chronic diseases.

After-hours/urgent care

Know how to contact the after-hours pediatrician if your child gets really sick, really fast (which happens with asthma). Also, know which urgent care clinic accepts your insurance so you are not stuck with a medical bill, and know the route so you can get there fast. Using after-hours or urgent care can get your child the help they need and hopefully prevent an asthma hospitalization.

Share your tips for keeping your kids healthy during Asthma Peak Week!

Chances are that your kids will get sick at school. It was not unusual for us to get a note from the nurse that COVID, strep throat, or stomach flu was going around the class.

But preparing ahead of time to make sure your child’s lungs are protected can help. And knowing what to do to help them if they have an asthma flare is important (follow that Asthma Action Plan).

Is there anything I missed? Does anyone else have ideas to add? Add them in the comments.