Now that the school summer holidays are almost here, it’s easy for health routines to go out of the window as children relax, enjoy the outdoors and get stuck into their favourite hobbies.

But Asthma UK is launching a campaign urging parents of children with asthma to make sure they take their usual preventer medicine and keep up a routine over the school holiday break.

The medicine builds up over time so will help to protect their child from an asthma attack during the summer holiday and once they return to school.

In September, children are nearly three times more likely to be admitted to hospital because of an asthma attack than in August, partly due to seasonal triggers such as cold and flu viruses.

The good news is that by taking a few simple steps, parents can help their child to avoid asthma attacks:

Keep up your child’s usual preventer medicine routine – usually a brown inhaler.

Make sure your child has an up-to-date written asthma action plan, which you can download from Asthma UK’s website, and share this with anyone who will be looking after them; as using one means they are less likely to end up in hospital for their asthma.­

Track your child’s asthma symptoms.

Prepare for going back to school by arranging for your child to have an asthma review with their GP or asthma nurse to check your child’s medicines, and make sure your child has spare, in-date reliever inhalers to take into school.

For information and support on how to manage your child’s asthma over the summer or to download a written asthma action plan visit www.asthma. org.uk/safersummer.

Dr Andy Whittamore

Clinical lead at Asthma UK and a practising GP