Asthma 'February epidemic' looms

Ahead of the start of the 2017 school year, the National Asthma Council Australia is asking pharmacists to help their young asthma patients be ready for a safe return to the classroom. The ‘February Epidemic’, a big asthma spike in children immediately after school goes back, is a well-recognised and documented phenomenon. Studies in Australia and the UK have shown asthma hospitalisations surge during the first month of the school year, with cases in Australia rising as much as threefold in children aged five to 14 years and doubling in pre-schoolers. While increased risks have also been recorded at the start of subsequent school terms, the February spike is by far the most significant.

National Asthma Council Australia Director and pharmacist, Stephen Hughes says that as one in 10 Australian children have asthma, pharmacists and parents need to be prepared for back to school time. Similar statistics are relevant in New Zealand with 3,730 asthma hospitalisations for children in New Zealand under the age of 15 years old in 2013. “Now is the time to ask your patients whether all their inhalers are in date – especially those in sports bags or at school,” he says.  “Make sure they have a spacer and know how to use it correctly. A good initiative would be to set up an area in-store for conducting a back to school parents’ and children’s inhaler technique refresher. “Taking these preventative measures before and during the first few weeks of school can go a long way to helping keep children with asthma out of hospital.”

Mr Hughes says that the start of school is also a good opportunity for pharmacists to help their patients set a goal for the year to motivate them to keep their asthma under control such as for activities important to them like sport and dance or to help them concentrate during exams. “No child with asthma should have to miss out on participating in sports or leading an active life.”

Help prepare your patients with their asthma management and complete the education modules shown below.

Source: https://ajp.com.au/news/asthma-february-epidemic-looms/?utm_source=AJP+Daily&utm_campaign=cc4e4f4398-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_01_23&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cce9c58212-cc4e4f4398-109985429, &  https://www.asthmafoundation.org.nz/news-events/2017/warning-of-back-to-school-spike-in-asthma, viewed 24 January 2017