Keeping Kids' Asthma in Check This Fall

From the common cold to mold, the respiratory viruses and allergens regularly swirling around the classrooms can send kids' asthma into a frenzy come fall. The No. 1 reason why students chronically miss school, asthma is also the culprit behind the annual early-autumn spike in hospitalizations and doctors' visits for the nearly 5 million children and teens in the United States with the chronic lung disease.

So, the newly updated asthma guidelines from the National Institute of Health's National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) couldn't come at a better time. Though they're geared toward helping doctors help their patients, the recommendations do contain a key take-home message for anyone with asthma: Proactively stay on top of the condition to keep it under control — not just when problems arise, but every day.

When students' asthma isn't in check, it can affect everything from how well they do in class to how much they're able to participate in sports. That's why it's so crucial to consistently manage kids' asthma to prevent symptoms or keep them from getting worse.

People with asthma have airways that are overly sensitive to certain things (called triggers) that normally don't bother others. So, kids with asthma may have a tough time once school is in full swing and they're regularly coming into contact with common in-school triggers such as:

• viral infections (like colds or the flu)
• dust mites
• chalk dust
• animal dander (from the class pet)
• mold
• exercise, cold air, and pollen (which can become a real problem during phys-ed classes)

Kids may react to these triggers over time, with gradual exposure, or suddenly and without warning. The result is usually an asthma flare-up (or attack) — when the lungs' already-inflamed airways become more swollen and clogged with sticky mucus, and the muscles around the airways tighten, leaving little room for air to flow through. But when asthma is well controlled, flare-ups happen less often and may not be as serious.