Of all chronic childhood diseases, asthma is the leading cause for school absenteeism. Developing an effective treatment plan and establishing a communication network between family, doctor, and the school is critical to minimizing the amount of time the student must miss school due to illness. A treatment plan may involve several types of medication, some of which will be taken regularly and some of which will be taken only under specific circumstances. The school nurse should be thoroughly briefed about the child's medication schedule and any limitations that the child will have in the school environment. Some medications have side effects including hand tremors, stomach aches, hyperactivity and lethargy.
Asthma attacks can also result in a lack of sleep, which can also contribute to lethargy.
If the school nurse is aware of these problems, and can intervene on the child's behalf if necessary, many problems and obstacles to classroom success can be avoided. Asthmatic children will occasionally hide their need for their medication because they are embarrassed by having to leave class to take their medicine. The nurse can often help by establishing a schedule for medication that is not highly visible to other students. The nurse can often help clear up any misconceptions that classmates may have about asthma. Physical education class can sometimes be a dilemma for the asthmatic child.