To think school should be able to manage asthma?

[Patiencerunningthin]

Y7 with controlled asthma- recent asthma nurse and GP check up all fine. Right meds, technique is good, peak flow fine.
No real issues in primary.
High school constantly sending him home for coughing. There is something environmental triggering it- he’s identified smell of cleaning products, dust in main hall and perfume/ body sprays.
Has asthma plan, inhalers and steroids in school.
Stops coughing within 5/ 10 minutes of being at home.
Perfectly happy at school, wants to be in lessons and upset about having to come home.
I have requested a meeting with Head of Year. This is so disruptive to him and unsustainable. He’s missing 3 lessons today. They have admitted as much that his coughing is an irritant, rather than a health risk.
Anyone had similar or managed to help school find an alternative solution to ringing me out of work? This is the 6th occasion since September. Awaiting a call from school nurses but unclear what they can offer beyond the asthma nurse or GP.

What does his Asthma Action Plan say?

Ours were a bit flakey with DS - leaving him in medical alone, sending him back into class off his tits after 15 puffs of his blue inhaler "he was breathing ok so I thought it was fine" etc. Now he's got an laminated copy of his AAP which tells everyone what to do.

Are the school treating it as a disability (i.e. serious negative impact on daily life if he didn't have his meds). I would be asking what the reasonable adjustments would be from a disability perspective I think.

If he is coughing continuously during a lesson then he isn't going to get much out of the lesson.

Def need some form of action plan - laminated copy sounds good idea. Does he carry and use inhalers in school?

Interestingly I challenged them on the disability aspect last week when their response was to consider him being taught in a separate space. I think it was a quick response which had t been thought through.
Plan advises which inhaler to use, all in school with new style spacer (dropped off last week). I did ask where does it say to ring parents? Laminated copy would be helpful on his person.
Like the off his tits comment- I think that’s exactly what’s been happening.

Asthma plan goes on to advise what stage medical intervention is required. He’s never had an asthma attack fortunately.

Could he start taking notes to try and identify the trigger? It must be miserable for him, hopefully if he was able to figure out what it is they might be able to do something to avoid it.

If he is coughing continuously during a lesson then he isn't going to get much out of the lesson.

Oh nonsense. Some people have conditions which mean they permanently cough and they can still learn, work etc. The effect on other learners has to be minimised with creative strategies, but sending DC home all the time isn't it.

But getting to the bottom of the triggering factors and having them mitigated as far as possible Reasonable Adjustments would be a good idea, and then the rest of the symptoms managed appropriately.

Schools are often ridiculous on a lot of minor medical things they ought to be able to manage. I'm always surprised that they seem to understand so little about basic medical information even when given the information that I would expect any intelligent person to understand. Staffing shortages are making this more difficult but it doesn't affect lack of understanding that much, and I often think it's "won't" not "can't".

What do you expect them to do they are not medical experts and they are dealing with loads of kids

Does he have his inhaler on him at all times? I know some schools are still shocking and try to keep inhalers in a cupboard somewhere far away from the person with asthma.

The school dd went to banned all spray perfumes, deoderants and hairspray as it affected people with asthma

Our school also bans aerosol based sprays due to allergies / asthma. It is not difficult to do....

I came on to mention aerosol sprays and see others have too.

Inhalers in his bag and spares with new spacer in medical office- although they seemed to have forgotten that today.
Identifying triggers is definitely key and teenage spraying of Sooo body spray will not help :)
Thanks for comments- reassuring to hear it’s not just us. Awaiting call from Head of Year to agree a way forward.

No advice re the school, but my child’s environmental triggers were dramatically reduced when he went onto Montelukast, maybe have a word with gp about trying that

I'd expect them to follow the asthma management plan to the letter and not call the parent at the first sign of a cough.

My son has brittle asthma and anaphylaxis allergies, he went through a stage of something in the school triggering his attacks.

After period of investigation we found that the air vents and the filters hasn’t been changed in a very long time and this what was causing him flare ups.

Are they investigating his triggers? Our sons consultant ended up visiting the school as they were digging their heals in.

What do you expect them to do they are not medical experts and they are dealing with loads of kids

What an ignorant comment, WE expect schools to follow our children's care plan which is a legal document which safeguards our children while in their care, they are legally bound to follow this and are also legally bound to ensure the environment our children are being educated in is safe, if this means banning/cleaning trigger airborne items then so be it.

@Gsds Thanks for the suggestion- he’s on Montelukast. They recently reviewed the dose but it cannot be increased before 15.

air vents is a good call as there is a particular theatre room they do the ‘morning meet’ which seems to set him off. My daughter describes it as fusty.

I’m no Mrs Hinch and we have a dog so when they suggested dust is triggering him I was looking at the tumble weed of fur from my cocker who is overdue a groom :)

Does wearing a mask help at all?

I guess it’s incredibly disruptive in the lesson if he is coughing continuously. If he’s anything like my son it sounds like a non stop bark. Honestly I just don’t know what to suggest. I guess if they’ve gone through the asthma plan at school and he’s had the recommended amount of puffs what exactly do you want them to do?

Theyre obviously going to have to do something incase it escalated into a full blown asthma attack in which case by that point they’ve been negligent.

hmm 'fusty' so possibly mould. which is a common allergen and asthma trigger.

my teen's school have a ban on spraying aerosols (body sprays/foot sprays/room sprays) on school grounds. they are just no very good for lung health in general.

wearing a mask indoors might be worth a try.

@DarkKarmaIlama - it’s become apparent today they aren’t following the plan. He is sent out as soon as he coughs. He has a medical pass but was refused to use it today, leads to him getting stressed as everyone is looking at him coughing, then coughing more.
I’ve queried who is advising them medically on their response as it’s an administrator that phones me. This is relevant so we are clear on an informed plan- not just that he’s disturbing the class through coughing.
Appreciate the shared experiences.
I get high school is bigger and he moves around but his health hasn’t changed and primary managed it with simple strategies like allowing him to get fresh air. I think there’s space for these discussions with High School.
Hadn’t considered the mask.

@Patiencerunningthin

Well good luck. I’ve managed the medical room in a secondary so just assumed they were following the plan. Schools do differ in how organised they are and it’s usually a sign of bad practice if they’ve given that responsibility to a member of office staff.

Might sound daft, but is he taking an anti histamine? My sons asthma is triggered whenever he visits my mum and a tablet helps.
I would also suggest a diary to work out if it's a particular lesson. Or even something he's eating at school.
They definitely should be banning the spray of aerosols - not necessary at all in school.

My DD has a medical plan due to asthma and other conditions
her school were also sending her home at the first cough and not following the medical plan which I have been through with them
her consultant is going to write to school and the school nurse for the area to reiterate the plan and stages of escalations
ie Inhaler, other meds - wait 20 mins
if escalating call me
if severe call 999
may be worth trying that? Also what preventative inhaler is your son having? My DD also has montelukast but a preventative and we’ve had to tweak a bit to find the best ones