Asthma and school
Your child's school asthma action plan should include:
- Phone numbers or email address of your child's provider, nurse, parents, and guardians
- A brief history of your child's asthma
- Asthma symptoms to watch for
- Your child's personal best peak flow reading
- What to do to make sure your child can be as active as possible during recess and physical education class
Include a list of triggers that make your child's asthma worse, such as:
- Cockroaches
- Dust
- Grass and weeds
- Rooms that are moldy or damp
- Smells from chemicals and cleaning products
- Smoke
- Food allergies
Provide details about your child's asthma medicines and how to take them, including:
- Daily medicines to control your child's asthma
- Quick-relief medicines to control asthma symptoms
Lastly, your child's provider and parent or guardian's signatures should be on the action plan as well.
These staff should each have a copy of your child's asthma action plan:
- Your child's teacher
- School nurse
- School office
- Gym teachers and coaches
Jackson DJ, Lemanske RF, Bacharier LB. Management of asthma in infants and children. In: Burks AW, Holgate ST, O'Hehir RE, et al, eds. Middleton's Allergy: Principles and Practice. 9th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 50.
National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Asthma Management Guidelines: Focused Updates 2020. www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/asthma-management-guidelines-2020-updates. Updated February 4, 2021. Accessed February 8, 2024.
Reviewed By: Frank D. Brodkey, MD, FCCM, Associate Professor, Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
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