Asthma and School

Asthma can be confusing. If your child has asthma, he or she always has it, even if there are no obvious symptoms. Here are a few tips on whether your child can attend school or needs to stay home for the day. Remember, if you are unsure or have questions, talk to your child's doctor.

You can consider sending your child to school if signs or symptoms are limited to:

You should consider keeping your child home and contacting the doctor for any of these symptoms:

• Infection, sore throat, or swollen, painful neck glands


• Fever with a temperature of 100°F or higher; face is hot and flushed


• Wheezing or coughing that still bothers your child an hour after taking asthma medicines


• Difficulty taking part in usual daily activities


• Very fast or difficult breathing


• Numbers in the yellow or red zone, if your child uses a peak flow meter

If you're unsure or have questions about whether your child is well enough to go to school, be sure to contact your doctor immediately.

If your child is on treatment and still having symptoms, it is important to take the Childhood Asthma Control Test to determine if his or her asthma is controlled as well as it could be. Make sure to share the results with your child's doctor so that he or she can determine if your child's medications need to be adjusted to better prevent your child's symptoms.