Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month

May is Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month, and on May 3, Asthma Awareness Day was held on Capitol Hill. The focus of this special month is on children and especially the following four areas of concern. 1. The rights of children to carry prescribed inhalers with them at school, so they have quick access to life-saving medications 2. The need for a full time school nurse in every school 3. Promote healthy indoor air quality 4. The importance of public awareness and scientific research devoted to the causes and cures of asthma.

During the May 3 activities in Washington, D.C., Jackie Joyner-Kersee told of her struggle against asthma. "After a very scary attack, I realized asthma wasn't a hurdle I could clear on my own. I worked with my doctor, got an asthma action plan, and now things are much better. I learned that I could reach for my goals and that asthma didn't have to slow me down," the three-time Olympic gold medallist told the audience.

Another speaker told of the need for changes in the way the schools deal with the unique medical problems of asthmatics. "There are too many incidents where children are rushed to the emergency room when a simple puff of their inhaler is all they need," said Jane Tustin, R.N., president of the National Association of School Nurses. "When a school nurse is available in each school, she plays a key role in working with families and educators to help students manage their asthma."

In many schools throughout the United States, students are not allowed to carry their inhalers with them, forcing them to keep life-saving medication out of reach. Yet, the National Association of School Nurses states that when educators, school nurses, kids, and parents work together, asthma management programs can be created to help kids live active lives.

To me, this attitude on the part of the schools is irrational. Would they require a student with multiple sclerosis to park his wheelchair in the school office? I seriously doubt it, yet for the asthmatic child, the necessary, life-saving medication is possibly even more necessary. To deny a child the medication needed to not only enhance his life, but possibly even save his life is, in my opinion, a form of abuse and neglect. If a parent denied their child medication needed to save their life, they would be prosecuted for child abuse. Why then are schools allowed to do the same thing, with no legal penalty for their actions?

Parents and other concerned individuals should contact their local school boards, find out

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