We will see many children with a history of asthma in the office with worsening symptoms in September. The Fall allergies are bad at this time of year (ragweed, other weeds, and molds), the weather changes frequently, and children are back in school getting more illness exposures. It is easy for many children to get off of their normal preventative medication during the warm weather months. All of these factors make it more likely for us to notice a dramatic increase in wheezing during the back to school time of year.
We cannot do much about the weather and you cannot stay inside in air conditioning all the time to avoid the allergies. And despite our best efforts to avoid the illnesses with back to school time, this is also difficult. So what to do?
The most important thing to do is to make sure that your child is taking their daily preventative medication (inhaled steroids, Singulair(r), etc.). Starting this now or before this season starts is very important. It takes a couple weeks to get the most benefit from these medications. It is also time to get a flu shot. This helps prevent a case of flu which can cause a worsening of the asthma.
Please call the office if you have questions.