For thousands of Irish children with asthma and their families, back-to-school preparations involve a lot more than picking out a new pencil case and uniform. Emergency hospital admissions for children with asthma increase significantly in the month of September. This Autumn surge in children’s asthma hospital admissions occurs year after year in Ireland and in many other countries. Asthma is also the leading cause of missed school days in the country, with children missing on average 10 days of school.
To combat this September spike, we have developed a Back-to-School Guide to help parents to get their child’s asthma under control before the return to school. The checklist is a guideline to direct you in the right direction to reduce the risk of your child being hospitalised due to asthma.
If you would like to talk to our asthma nurse about back-to-school time, call our Adviceline on 1800 44 54 64.
Advice for parents
- For further information on how to support your child with asthma, please visit our Asthma and Children page.
- Encourage your child’s teacher to print out our 5 Step Rule poster for their classroom or direct them to our Asthma Friendly Schools Programme if they’d like more information.
- It is important to have your child’s asthma reviewed by a GP before school starts and get their Asthma Action Plan updated.
- Remember our asthma nurse is always available to give you free, confidential and tailored advice on 1800 44 54 64. You can also use our WhatsApp messaging service by sending a message to 086 059 0132.