Helping young people to manage their respiratory health this autumn

Respiratory health experts in Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland (LLR) are urging all children and young people with asthma to prepare for winter by following four key steps that will help to prevent them becoming seriously unwell as the colder weather begins to set in. The four steps are:

1. Regular asthma review – At least once a year and after an asthma episode which can be booked at your GP practice.
2. Asthma or ‘wheeze’ action plan – This is a comprehensive plan tailored to your child to help children, young people, and their parents/carers to know what to do if their asthma gets worse and in an emergency. Your child’s personalised plan is usually issued by either your GP, practice nurse or clinical pharmacist.
3. Correct inhaler technique – Ensuring your child is taking their inhaler properly so that the medication reaches the lungs where it’s required to work. Get your inhaler technique checked at your GP practice or local community pharmacy. I
4. Environmental impacts – Think about air quality. Environmental triggers such as pollen, thunderstorms, and air pollution can cause asthma attacks. If your house has mould or damp this could also impact on your child’s asthma. To help fix this seek help from your local authority. Finally smoking can trigger asthma. If you or a family member smoke and want to give up, speak to a health professional.

Asthma attacks can be triggered by adverse weather conditions and changes to our environment such as going back to school or college. To support young people and parents to prepare for the impact colder weather can have on asthma, experts are advising families to follow the simple steps that could prevent children and young people from becoming seriously unwell and requiring hospital treatment.

Dr Louise Ryan, GP and Clinical Lead for Respiratory and Children and Young People for LLR ICB, said: “As we transition from the warm summer months into autumn and winter, we often see a rise in the number of preventable asthma attacks especially amongst children. Our four top tips will help to keep your child’s asthma managed and help to keep them well during winter and beyond. Severe asthma attacks can be very serious and require hospitalisation so we want to do everything we can to empower parents/carers and their children to know how to manage their asthma and prevent attacks. If your child hasn’t had an asthma review this year with your GP practice, please get one booked in.”

Inhaler users can also benefit from a new dedicated information hub which includes a
seven-step inhaler guide to ensure your child has the correct inhaler technique. Alongside videos that have been developed by Asthma and Lung UK for each type of inhaler device. All the guides and videos can be viewed here: www.leicesterleicestershireandrutland.icb.nhs.uk/your-health/respiratory/inhalers/

Professor Damian Roland, Professor in Paediatric Emergency Medicine, at the University Hospitals of Leicester said: “At this time of year we usually see a big increase in the number of young children we treat with asthma attacks and wheeze in our children’s emergency department. By helping families to learn about known factors that can trigger wheeze we hope to reduce the number of children requiring emergency care.

“Being familiar with your child’s asthma action plan and ensuring they are using their inhaler correctly will make a massive difference to all asthma patients because it helps to ensure the medicine gets into the lungs, where it’s needed to work. This is important to enable people to manage their asthma effectively by helping them to cope better with day-to-day symptoms and reduce their risk of having asthma attacks.”