How to Prepare Child With Asthma for the Start of School

Asthma inhaler and spacer

Before a child with asthma starts back to school, the parent needs to take some steps to make sure that the child stays safe during the school day. The child needs to know where his inhaler is being stored, and the school staff needs to know how to use the inhaler in case the child has an asthma flare-up during school hours.

Things You'll Need

• Inhaler
• Medical form signed by doctor
• Written directions for dosage

Instructions

1. Schedule an appointment with your child’s asthma doctor. Develop a plan for how to handle asthma flare-ups that happen during school hours. The doctor needs to write down on a medical form how many puffs to administer and how much time to wait between doses.

2. Fill a new inhaler prescription. The inhaler needs to last for the entire school year, so wait to fill the prescription for the inhaler you will store at the school until right before school starts. Check the expiration date to make sure that the inhaler will last throughout the entire school year.

3. Meet with your child’s teacher. You child’s teacher needs to know that your child has asthma before the first day of school. The teacher also needs to know what symptoms to look for and what to do if your child has an asthma attack.

4. Assemble an asthma kit for the classroom. Place the inhaler in a gallon-sized resealable plastic bag, along with the spacer (if needed) and the original inhaler box that contains the prescription information. Write your child’s name on the outside of the bag with a permanent magic marker and also include instructions, such as “two puffs every four hours as needed.”

5. Deliver the asthma kit to the teacher before or on the first day of school. Ask where the kit will be stored, and make sure your child knows where the inhaler will be stored as well.

6. Turn in the medical form to the front office. The school nurse will need to review the medical form and put together an action plan for your child’s asthma. Be sure to turn in the form by the first day of school.

Tips & Warnings

• Find out if your child’s school has its own medical form. Many school systems will only accept their own medical forms.

• Many schools require the inhaler to be stored in a box that includes the prescription information. Make sure you send in a prescription version of the medication rather than a free sample from the asthma doctor’s office.

• Ask the teacher about the backup plan for when substitute teachers are covering the classroom. Anyone who is responsible for your child during the school day, including substitute teachers, needs to know that your child has asthma, where the inhaler is stored and what to do in case of an asthma flare-up.

• Always check the expiration date before sending an inhaler to school for the year. Be sure that the medication will not expire before school ends for summer vacation.