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As the new school year approaches, the Asthma and
Respiratory Foundation NZ is advising parents and educators
to be prepared for return to school asthma flare
ups.
“Return to school asthma flare ups are
well-documented both in New Zealand and overseas. Research
shows that asthma hospitalisations for New Zealand children
peak in the early weeks of each term, with the greatest peak
occurring in weeks three and four of term one. Surprisingly,
the rate of hospitalisations at this time of year is greater
than during winter months for children under 14 years,”
explains Respiratory Paediatrician Dr David McNamara, a
member of the Foundation’s Scientific Advisory
Board.
International studies identify several possible
factors for this increased risk, including exposure to
different allergens and new viruses in the school
environment, as well as changes in emotions like stress and
anxiety which can be triggers for asthma.
Dr McNamara
is encouraging parents to take action now to reduce the risk
of return to school asthma. “Now is the time to check that
you have the inhalers you need, spacers and an up-to-date
Asthma Action Plan. Get your child into the habit of
regularly using their preventer and make sure they take
their reliever inhaler with them to school,” he
says.
Action plans are essential self-management
documents outlining how to recognise and respond to
worsening symptoms of asthma. The Foundation recommends that
all children with asthma have a plan, and this is shared
with their child’s school and class teacher.
The
Foundation also encourages all schools to have an Asthma
Emergency Kit and be informed on how to respond to asthma
emergencies. “With one in eight Kiwi kids living with
asthma, it is vital that educators know what to do in an
asthma emergency.” says Foundation Chief Executive Letitia
Harding.
Schools are able to purchase Asthma Emergency
Kits from the Foundation’s resource store. Posters and
booklets on how to respond to asthma emergencies can be
downloaded for free from the Foundation’s website. Thanks
to funding received from the NH Taylor Charitable Trust, the
Foundation will be supplying 100 Asthma Emergency Kits to
low decile schools at the start of the 2023 school
year.
“We are thrilled to be able to provide our kits
free of charge to these schools, and we hope to do more of
this in the future,” Ms Harding says. The Foundation has a
number of additional free resources available to parents and
educators including an online Parent/Educator
toolkit, a digital
asthma classroom in te reo Māori and English, and a Back-to-School
checklist for
families.
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