Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn
Catholic Education Office

Asthma

Related Policies:

First Aid
Medication Dispensing

Purpose:

To provide schools with guidelines for the management of student asthma.

Policy:

Every student with significant asthma should have a standard record and an Asthma Management & Emergency Treatment Plan filled out by his/her parent/carer in consultation with the student's doctor. This record should be completed at the beginning of each school year and updated if there are any changes to the student's asthma treatment throughout the year. This Student Asthma Management & Emergency Treatment Plan can be photocopied and provided to parents/carers .

Definitions:

Asthma affects one in four primary school and one in seven secondary school students and is the most common cause of hospital admission in children. People with asthma have sensitive airways. When they are exposed to certain triggers such as dust, pollens, animals, tobacco smoke and exercise, their airways narrow, making it hard for them to breathe.

Asthma can be controlled and need not interfere with playing sport or exercising. As Exercise Induced Asthma (EIA) affects more than 80% of people with asthma, it is important that teachers responsible for physical education understand and are ready to assist their students who have asthma. Frequent asthma symptoms while exercising may suggest that a student's asthma is not well managed.

Causes of Exercise Induced Asthma

Breathing normally occurs through the nose. The nose warms and moistens the air. When people exercise they tend to breathe faster and through the mouth. The mechanism in the mouth to warm and moisten the air is less effective than that in the nose. This means that colder, drier air reaches the airways causing water loss and cooling. This is thought to irritate and tighten the airways of people with asthma.

In many instances, symptoms occur soon after the completion of the exercise during the ‘cooling down' period rather than during the exercise.

The main symptoms of asthma are -

• wheezing (noisy breathing)
• persistent cough, particularly at night, early morning or with exercise
• shortness of breath.

These symptoms vary from student to student. Some students may have all symptoms, while some may only have a cough or wheeze.

Procedures:

Management of Exercise Induced Asthma

Students with a history of asthma should be encouraged to carry their bronchodilators (blue – reliever medication) at all times.

An asthma attack can take anything from a few minutes to a few days to develop. During an attack wheezing, coughing, and breathlessness can worsen quickly, until breathing becomes difficult. An asthma attack can be life threatening and should be taken seriously.

1. Emergency treatment.

If a student suddenly collapses or appears to have difficulty breathing and there is no other immediate cause call an ambulance immediately and follow the Standard First Aid Asthma Plan

Standard Asthma First Aid Plan

2. How to prevent exercise induced asthma.

First:

• Make sure the student's day-to-day asthma is under control.
• Encourage all students with significant asthma to have regular reviews with their doctors and to have their own Asthma Action Plans. An Asthma Action Plan gives step-by-step instructions to help manage asthma.

Then:

• Ensure that students use their blue reliever puffer ( Airomir, Asmol, Bricanyl or Ventolin ) 5-10 minutes BEFORE they warm up. These medications are commonly known as relievers. Intal Forte, Tilade and Singulair are preventer medications but may also be used to help manage EIA. Students should always check with their doctors as to which inhaler is best for them.
• Ensure that students ALWAYS WARM UP before any sport or exercise. A warm up consists 15-20 minutes of light, intermittent exercises and stretching.
• Students should always COOL DOWN following sport or exercise.

3. If a student experiences asthma symptoms during sport or exercise

First:

• Have the student STOP exercising.
• Have them take 4 separate puffs of their blue reliever puffer ( Airomir Asmol, Bricanyl or Ventolin ) with a volumatic spacer device if available.
• Restart exercise only if they can breathe easily and are free of symptoms.

Then:

If the symptoms do not go away immediately or if they return when the student starts exercising again they should:

• Use their blue reliever puffer ( Airomir, Asmol, Bricanyl or Ventolin ) as before and follow the students Student Asthma Record Card.
• Not return to any exercise for the rest of the day.
• Have their asthma reviewed by their doctor.

If they continue to have symptoms, follow the Asthma Management and Emergency Treatment Plan which forms part of the Asthma: Student Record.

4. Asthma first aid kit contents.

First aid kits in schools and workplaces should, as a minimum, contain the items listed below. Portable kit contents can be modified depending on the risk level of the activity and its proximity to the school.

References:

ACT Department of Youth and Community Services Asthma Policy 2004
AIS Asthma Policy 2004

Forms:

Student Record Form: Asthma

Last updated on December 2, 2006