Children with asthma in England could be four times more likely to be hospitalised with life-threatening asthma attacks once they return to school next week, a charity has warned.
Analysis by Asthma + Lung UK reveals a 348 per cent rise in the number of 5-14-year-olds admitted to hospital with an asthma attack in September last year compared with the month before.
The most significant increase was seen among five to nine-year-olds, with a 370 per cent rise in the number of hospital admissions in September compared to August.
Analysis also found that boys in the 5-14-year age group were 53 per cent more likely to be admitted to hospital than girls.
Admissions tend to increase rapidly in September as some children with asthma do not take their preventer medicines every day as prescribed during the summer holidays. This can lead to their asthma being poorly controlled when they go back to school.
Emma Rubach, Head of Health Advice at Asthma + Lung UK, said: “For parents of children with asthma, September can be a very worrying time because the return to school means they may be exposed to more triggers that can bring on an asthma attacks or make their asthma symptoms worse.
“Colds and flu viruses are two of the biggest culprits as these viruses circulate more from September because children are mixing once again after the summer break.
“Other reasons could be that pollen levels are often higher than usual in the first half of September which can worsen asthma symptoms too, as can the cleaning products used to clean schools over the holidays.”
She encouraged parents to ensure that children take their preventer inhaler every day during the holidays and maintain treatment plans for asthma outside of term.
An estimated one in eight children have asthma and a child suffers a potentially life-threatening asthma attack every two and a half minutes.
Warning signs of an attack can include coughing and wheezing, breathlessness or chest and stomach pain.
Exposure to asthma triggers including colds and flu viruses, dust mites and pollen can all trigger potentially fatal attacks or worsen symptoms.
‘I fear for my son next week’
Sarah Cheetham’s four-year-old son Jonah will start school in Essex for the first time this September.
Jonah suffers from severe asthma and has previously been rushed to hospital several times after an attack.
Ms Cheetham, 42, said: “Last winter was hard for us. He was constantly getting viral infections which he’ll be more exposed to when starting school. At nursery, the staff were really good and were very aware of Jonah’s asthma and allergies and knew how to keep him safe, and I would keep him at home if he wasn’t well.”
But she said that school could be a more difficult experience for her son as there “will be many more children and lots more complex situations to think about”.
“We've spoken with the school who've been really supportive and put a plan together to address his needs, but he will be mixing with many more children than he did at nursery which increases his exposure to triggers and as a parent this is such a worry,” she said.
“People don’t take asthma seriously enough and aren’t aware of how quickly a child can become unwell. Watching your child struggling to breathe is an absolutely terrifying experience.”
