Families: Asthma Management in Early Child Care

Help control your child’s asthma by making sure medications are taken as prescribed, even after a long time without asthma symptoms. Have your child tested for their asthma triggers by their doctor. Keep an asthma diary that describes everything about each asthma attack: when, where, what and why. Talk your child’s doctor about your results.

When- When did the attack happen? What time of day or night?
Where- Where was your child: at home, school, car, outside?
What- what was your child doing when the asthma attack started? Sometimes it can take hours for symptoms to start after contact to a trigger.
Why- Try to guess the reason for the asthma attack. Was your child sleeping or exercising? Had your child been around secondhand smoke?

Steps families can take to be sure your child is in a safe and healthy atmosphere. Print the Asthma Child Care Checklist to take with you.

• Talk to your child’s care givers about asthma. They should know your child’s triggers and symptoms to look for during an asthma attack. They need to know the actions to take during an asthma attack.

• Give a copy of the doctor’s prescribed Asthma Action Plan to your child’s caregiver. Explain how to read and follow the plan. The Asthma Action Plan should include the child’s asthma triggers, medication, peak flow meter readings, emergency contact information and procedures to follow in the event of an asthma attack.

• Provide necessary medication for your child, like an inhaler. Be sure that your child’s care providers have enough medication and know how to administer the medication.
  Ask your child’s care giver to use the asthma diary you develop.

• Ask the early child care provider about their pest control policy and indoor air quality policies and issues.

• Review inspection and compliant information for individual early child care settings from Indiana Family & Social Services website.