Asthma management plan

Transcript

Narrator: It is important that your child has an asthma management plan. This plan should be specifically for your child and written by your doctor. It tells us how to manage your child when they are well and what to do when they become unwell. It takes into account the severity of your child's asthma.

Keep this plan up to date and make sure it is in a place you can find it easily. Maybe on the fridge. Share this plan with others who may need to manage your child when they are unwell.

What do I do if my child is having an asthma attack?

If you have an asthma management plan, then you should follow that. If you don't have a plan or if you are unsure what to do, then follow the asthma first aid plan. This is the same for adults and children. However, very young children may need to use a face mask with their spacer.

Asthma first aid steps

Narrator: An asthma attack can be frightening for both you and your child.

Step one, it is important to remain calm and sit your child upright.

Step two, give reliever medication. Use your child's spacer. How to use a spacer is explained in another section. All reliever medications are blue. Shake the blue puffer and take the cap off. Puff one puff of medication into the spacer. Watch your child breath. Take four effective breaths. Repeat this step four times until your child has taken a total of four puffs of medication.

Step three, wait for four minutes. At the end of four minutes, look at your child's breathing. Do they look and feel better?

Is there any improvement or are they still breathing faster or harder than normal? If they are not better, give another four puffs of reliever medication as before.

Mum: Four breaths slowly. 1, 2, 3, 4.

Narrator: Step four, if your child is not improving, you should seek further help. It is difficult to give general advice, however, acute asthma that is not responding to reliever medication is a medical emergency.

Oh my God. Dial triple O and talk with the operator.

Mum: Hello, ambulance. Yes. My two year old son's having an asthma attack.

Narrator: Continue to give four puffs of reliever medication every four minutes until emergency assistance has arrived.

Mum: One full breath, slowly. Ready?

Summary

Mum: Step one. Remain calm. Sit the child upright and locate your child's asthma management plan.

Step two. Give reliever medication. Give four puffs via a spacer. Watch your child take four effective breaths after each puff of reliever medication.

Step three. Wait for four minutes and check to see if your child has responded. If no improvement, give another four puffs.

Step four. If your child is not improving, call an ambulance while waiting for help continue to give four puffs of reliever medication every four minutes.

Children with asthma have recurrent bouts of wheeze and difficulty breathing. Wheeze is a high pitched musical sound typically heard when a child breathes out. If your child is having an asthma attack, follow their asthma management plan or the asthma first aid plan.

Managing asthma is different in children and adults. Some medications do not work well in young children. The goal is for you and your child to lead an active and healthy life.

Andy is going to play football and he knows that this activity makes him wheezy and cough a lot. Note that Andy checks that his inhaler is not empty prior to use and that it is in date.

(First puff- four breaths)

Mum: Taking your blue reliever puffer five to 10 minutes before exercise can help reduce the symptoms of asthma and enable him to complete a game without symptoms or needing to stop.

(Wait 30 seconds)

(Second puff - four breaths)

Mum: When giving puffers to small children, it is best to use a puffer and spacer with a mask. This helps to ensure that the child receives adequate amounts of the medication.

Mum: Come on, you're doing good. Breath slowly one.

Narrator: Using this method is as effective as using a nebuliser. Nebulizers require an electricity supply and are very noisy and time consuming to use.

Mum: Slow breaths. Ready One.

Narrator: Nebulisers also require regular servicing to maintain their effectiveness. When taking regular preventer puffers, you should always rinse your mouth out to reduce the risk of developing thrush in the mouth.

Spaces are very easy to clean and maintain. Once a month, take the spacer apart and wash it in warm soapy water with no rinsing. With the soap bubbles on, leave the spacer to drip dry on the draining board. Spacers should not be dried caring for your spacer. This way lessens the static inside the spacer, stops the medicine from sticking to the sides and helps medicine get into your lungs better.

Prednisone and similar medication reduces swelling and mucus produced by the airway very quickly. It is taken when asthma is severe and not responding to inhaled preventer medication.

Inhaled steroid preventers like flixotide, pulmicort, qvar and alvesco reduce the swelling and mucus produced by the airways and make the airways less sensitive. Side effects can include thrush of the mouth, voice change, sore mouth, or throat. This can be minimized by using a puffer and spacer, rinsing, gargling, and spitting after taking the medication.

Exercise and activity is vital for keeping you fit and healthy. Asthma during or after activity may be a sign of poorly controlled or exercise induced asthma (EIA). If you cough, feel tight in the chest, feel short of breath, or wheeze with physical exertion, and these symptoms do not improve within a few minutes, take your reliever and see your doctor for advice.

You may have exercise induced asthma. At rest you breathe through your nose as air moves through your nose. It is warmed and moistened. When you exercise you breathe faster through your mouth, inhaling, cooler, drier air. This may act as a trigger for your asthma.

To prepare for exercise or activity use your blue reliever medication five to 10 minutes before you warm up. Some preventer medications and long-acting reliever medication may also help to prevent exercise induced asthma. Always warm up before exercise by doing 15 to 20 minutes of light, intermittent exercise or stretching, or five to seven 30 seconds sprints every two to three minutes, about 30 minutes before exercise.

Always carry your blue reliever in case you need it. Always cool down following exercise and activity when you get exercise-induced asthma, stop exercising all your activity. Take one puff of your blue reliever into your spacer and take four breaths. Repeat for another three puffs. If your symptoms persist or return when you recommence activity, use your blue inhaler as before. Do not return to activity or exercise for the rest of the day and see your doctor for advice on your asthma management.

If your symptoms persist, follow the asthma first aid plan and seek medical attention.