It's a dangerous time of year for asthma-sufferers, especially if you're a student.
President
of the Asthma Society of Canada Dr. Robert Oliphant tells Tide News
about a quarter of the yearly hospital admissions for asthma happen in a
two week period called the September Asthma Peak.
Oliphant
says the students are especially vulnerable to attacks at the beginning
of the school year because of the mold and dust mites that have
collected in the schools due to them being closed up during the summer
months. It's also because many of the students are still in
vacation-mode and not taking their medication regularly, and thirdly,
because of the common cold going around.
To keep
it under control, Oliphant suggests a asthma action plan. He says
students should be keeping a diary of the kinds of things they need to
do to control the condition, including taking their medication every
day, usually twice a day. He says regular use makes the lungs less
susceptible to an asthma attack.