Minnesota health department specialist talks Asthma Peak Week

Well if you or someone you know lives with asthma, right now isn't just the start of fall, it is historically the most dangerous time of the year. The third week of September is known as Asthma Peak Week. Every year around this time, hospitals and ERs see a spike in asthma attacks and respiratory emergencies. Joining us now to discuss Asthma Peak Week is Master Public Health Andrea Hinkle, or Hickle, I'm sorry, and the Asthma Program Manager for the Minnesota Department of Health. So Andrea, thank you so much for joining us. I had never heard of this. Yeah, I don't think it's necessarily common information, but it is a trend that's been happening over a number of years. And so why? So we're excited to talk to you about this. Yeah, why is it happening in September? So a few things that we think are are responsible for this. One is increased exposure to colds and other respiratory viruses through indoor contact with classmates after kids head back to school. Also, changes in asthma medication routines. Kids may have gotten out of the habit of using their asthma medications over the summer. Also, getting exposed to different environmental triggers that may exist at school. And finally, stress that students may experience with going back to school. So a lot of things probably working together. So maybe even comparing this to, you know, a different month or to to what would be called maybe a normal period. What do the asthma spike attacks in emergency room visits look like to you guys? Yeah. So we've done some analysis of this in the asthma program at Minnesota Department of Health and compared with mid summer childhood asthma related emergency department visits approximately triple within one to two weeks after school starts. So it's a pretty significant increase. And then they start to decline as fall goes on. So in younger Children, it's especially pronounced ages five through 13 kids experienced larger increases in adolescence, age 14 through 17. So adults also experienced fall increases in the emergency department visits. The increases is less than we see among Children and youth. So how can those battling asthma stay safe during this time or anytime really, but especially during this peak? Sure. Great question. Since the big spike and fall as my emergency department visits is among kids and a lot of the recommendations for kids also fit for adults. Let's focus on Children and families. So some key things to keep in mind reminders. Take any child with asthma and your family to see their health care provider. Ask your provider for a written up to date asthma action plan and give it to the school health office. That asthma action plan includes what medicines to use and when phone numbers for your health care provider clinic and list of asthma triggers to avoid or reduce as much as possible. Make sure your child's immunizations are up to date and if they're involved in sports, make sure they have a sports physical on file at school. You should also renew your child's asthma prescriptions with your pharmacy. If your child has a quick relief inhaler, they should have a device you attached to it called the spacer, which helps ensure that all of the medicine gets into their lungs. And you can ask your provider for a prescription for that also built the pharmacy. Um, also go over proper inhaler technique with your child's provider and then continue to practice it at a home at home. So it's second nature to them. And as for preventing any health issue, make sure your child gets enough sleep, good nutrition and physical activity as much as you can. Yeah. So with that being said, I'm just trying to think of is there anything in particular, you know, that maybe parents can do to sort of avoid, you know, having to run to the emergency room or these, you know, scary attacks. I know you mentioned some of the recommendations there, but is there anything in particular that some of the parents can do? Yeah, well, I think really following that asthma action plan is really important in making sure that it's up to date. Um, it's got a lot of key, key things to do, what to look for and what, what to do in different situations, depending on what's happening with the child's asthma. And that also applies to adults who should also have an asthma action plan. Absolutely. Avoiding triggers as much as possible. If you know what your triggers are and most people with asthma, I get a pretty good idea of that. It's like, you know, your kids. So just try to write, kind of think about that and also have that point and just having this conversation right now to make sure that people are aware of asthma peak season and what's happening right now. It just, it's a good, you know, puts that reminder right there in your head. So Andrea, thank you so much for joining us to talk about this tonight. Absolutely. I do want to reiterate that the MDH asthma program is here to help. You can email us. We have an abundance of resources for Children and adults, healthcare providers, schools and others on our website. We want to make sure that everyone has the tools they need to keep Children in school and learning. Absolutely. Thank you so much, Andrea. We appreciate your time.