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by Theresa Green

For many children, summer means a trip to camp, Vacation Bible School, or a variety of other organized activities. However, if your child is one of the millions in America with asthma, specialists with OU Children’s Physicians stress it is important to do some homework to help keep your child healthy this summer.

“Take the initiative,” said Dr. James Royall, an OU Physicians pulmonologist who specializes in asthma care. “Talk to those who will be caring for your child. Make sure they know what your child’s treatment or medication needs might be. It is also important to help educate them about the asthma warning signs that may indicate your child is starting to get into trouble.”

Royall added the most common warning signs of asthma include: a persistent cough (sometimes brought on by exercise and worse at night), breathlessness, wheezing, and a feeling of tightness in the chest.

One mother of an asthmatic two-year-old created a special sheet above her son’s box at daycare. It includes all of the important dos and don’ts. She also personally trained her son’s caregivers to ensure that they know how to give him his necessary breathing treatments and any maintenance medications. “I have tried to stress to them just how important it is to call me if they notice something unusual,” she said.

During a severe attack, breathing becomes increasingly difficult, causing sweating, a rapid heartbeat, great distress, and anxiety. Dr. Royall stressed early intervention is critical. “It makes a lot of difference if you start therapy at the earliest signs of trouble, often when the child is only having a persistent cough with no trouble breathing. Many times you won’t need nearly as much medicine,” he explained. “If you wait till the child is quite symptomatic and try to play catch up at home, that’s what gets you into trouble.”

He added there are a number of very good medications available to treat acute asthma attacks, but parents need to make those medicines available to summer caregivers. They also need to make sure those caregivers know how and when to use them.

Theresa Green is the mother of two children and president of Evergreen Productions, Inc. An award-winning reporter and former news anchor, she has reported on health, education, and parenting issues in Oklahoma City, Seattle, and Detroit.