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If your child’s asthma suddenly gets worse, they need urgent treatment. Signs of an asthma attack include:
● Sounding very wheezy
● Having a tight chest
● Finding it hard to breath
● Being too breathless to talk or walk
Sometimes there is no obvious cause for your child’s asthma attack. The most common triggers are viral infections (coughs, colds and chest infections), emotional anxiety and exposure to airway irritants such as cigarette smoke.
What should I do if my child is having an asthma attack?
1. Sit your child upright
2. Keep them calm and reassure them
3. Refer to your child’s action plan and follow the instructions. If your child does not yet have their own plan see here
Click here for an Operation Ouch video on asthma that you and your child can watch together.
If your child has any of the following:
Keep child in upright position and reassure them.
You need to contact a doctor or nurse today.
Please ring your GP surgery or NHS 111 – dial 111
Continue to follow your child’s action plan while seeking advice.
If symptoms persist for 4 hours or more and you have not been able to speak to either a member of staff from your GP practice or to NHS 111 staff, recheck that your child has not developed any red features
If none of the above features are present
Watch them closely for any change and look out for any red or amber symptoms
Continue to follow your child’s action plan while seeking advice
If your child has other symptoms associated with their asthma attack, you might want to look at our information on sore throat, cough, earache, diarrhoea and vomiting or tummy ache or our other pathways.
If you are still worried, please see your local pharmacist or call NHS 111 - call 111
Children and young people who are unwell and have a high temperature should stay at home. They can go back to school, college or childcare when they no longer have a high temperature, and they are well enough to attend.
The most common triggers are viral infections, emotional disturbance and exposure to airway irritants such as cigarette smoke.
Things you can do to reduce the chance of your child having an asthma attack:
Children with poorly controlled asthma are much more likely to have an asthma attack. Make sure your child follows their action plan.
Signs of poorly controlled asthma:
● Needing additional doses of inhaler 3 or more times a week
● Wheezy after exercise
● Persistent night-time cough
If your child has symptoms of poorly controlled asthma they should be reviewed. Make an appointment with their GP or asthma nurse.
It is important to have a yearly asthma review with your asthma nurse or GP. Everyone with asthma should have an action plan.
To watch a video on encouraging children to use their inhalers effectively please click here.
Your child’s asthma will not be controlled if their medicines are not getting into their lungs.
Watch these Beat Asthma videos on how to help your child use their inhaler.
If your child has been given a spacer:
Plastic spacers should be washed before 1st use and every month as per manufacturer's guidelines.
Click here for videos on inhaler technique.
See your practice nurse or doctor if you are not sure whether your child is using their inhaler properly.
Even when adults smoke away from their children, smoke on their clothes and hair can make their child’s asthma worse.
If needed visit the Healthier Together page on how to stop smoking.
Flu viruses can trigger asthma symptoms. Current guidelines in the UK recommend that high-risk groups such as people with severe asthma should have a flu jab each winter.
You can treat your child's very minor illnesses and injuries at home.
Some illnesses can be treated in your own home with support and advice from the services listed when required, using the recommended medicines and getting plenty of rest.
Children can recover from illness quickly but also can become more poorly quickly; it is important to seek further advice if a child's condition gets worse.
For information on common childhood illnesses go to What is wrong with my child?
Pharmacists are experts in many aspects of healthcare and can offer advice on a wide range of long-term conditions and common illnesses such as coughs, colds and stomach upsets. You don’t need an appointment and many have private consultation areas, so they are a good first port of call. Your pharmacist will say if you need further medical attention.
Health visitors are nurses or midwives who are passionate about promoting healthy lifestyles and preventing illness through the delivery of the Healthy Child Programme. They work with you through your pregnancy up until your child is ready to start school.
Health Visitors can also make referrals for you to other health professionals for example hearing or vision concerns or to the Community Paediatricians or to the child and adolescent mental health services.
Contact them by phoning your Health Visitor Team or local Children’s Centre.
Health visitors also provide advice, support and guidance in caring for your child, including:
For more information watch the video: What does a health visitor do?
School nurses care for children and young people, aged 5-19, and their families, to ensure their health needs are supported within their school and community. They work closely with education staff and other agencies to support parents, carers and the children and young people, with physical and/or emotional health needs.
Contacting the School Nurse
Primary and secondary schools have an allocated school nurse – telephone your child’s school to ask for the contact details of your named school nurse.
There is also a specialist nurse who works with families who choose to educate their children at home.
Before your child starts school your health visitor will meet with the school nursing team to transfer their care to the school nursing service. The school nursing team consists of a school nursing lead, specialist public health practitioners and school health staff nurses.
They all have a role in preventing disease and promoting health and wellbeing, by:-
Each member of the team has links with many other professionals who also work with children including community paediatricians, child and adolescent mental health teams, health visitors and speech and language therapists. The school health nursing service also forms part of the multi-agency services for children, young people and families where there are child protection or safeguarding issues.
GPs assess, treat and manage a whole range of health problems. They also provide health education, give vaccinations and carry out simple surgical procedures. Your GP will arrange a referral to a hospital specialist should you need it.
You have a choice of service:
If you’re not sure which NHS service you need, call 111. An adviser will ask you questions to assess your symptoms and then give you the advice you need, or direct you straightaway to the best service for you in your area.
Use NHS 111 if you are unsure what to do next, have any questions about a condition or treatment or require information about local health services.
A&E departments provide vital care for life-threatening emergencies, such as loss of consciousness, suspected heart attacks, breathing difficulties, or severe bleeding that cannot be stopped. If you’re not sure it’s an emergency, call 111 for advice.
