Search
× Search

Asthma at School

Role of the Teacher

Identify the high-risk students with asthma:

  • Previous life-threatening episodes
  • Three or more emergency room visits in one year
  • Prior hospitalizations within one year
  • History of non-adherence to asthma treatment regimen
  • Recurrent nighttime asthma requiring medications
  • Know the early warning signs
  • Have a copy of the students Asthma Action Plan in your classroom
  • Understand the student may feel tired, different from other students, anxious
    about easy access to medications, embarrassed about asthma, worried about
    activities that induce asthma

Asthma Facts

  • Asthma is the most common chronic disease of children
  • There are approximately 22 million people in the USA diagnosed with asthma
  • Asthma is the leading cause of school absenteeism in the United States
  • Children with uncontrolled asthma miss approximately 14 days of school per year
  • Asthma education is a vital component of asthma management
  • Asthma specialists (Allergist, Pulmonologist) are needed to care for mild
    persistent, moderate persistent and severe persistent asthma
  • If properly managed, people with asthma can live a happy, healthy, active life

Early Warning Signs

  • Low peak flows
  • Chronic cough (especially at night)
  • itchy, scratchy, sore throat
  • headache, stopped up head, sneezing
  • shortness of breath with exertion restlessness, more irritable,
    or at even rest
  • dark circles under the eyes
  • restlessness, more irritable
  • increased fatigue
  • tired, itchy watery, glassy eyes

Asthma Action Plan

An action plan is a treatment plan for worsening asthma. The action plan adjusts to the severity of symptoms so that students can control their asthma. People with asthma should have a treatment and management plan developed by their health care team. An Asthma Action Plan is a special road map to know how to take care of asthma each day.

When peak flow rates are:

Green Zone
  • Everything is all "go"
  • 80% or more of what your peak flow rate should be
Yellow Zone
  • Caution
  • 60 to 80% of what your peak flow rate should be
Red Zone
  • Medical emergency - peak flow rates are less than 50% of what it should be

Peak Flow Monitoring

A peak flow meter is a device that measures how well air moves in and out of the lungs. During an asthma episode, the airways become inflamed and narrowed. Many people who take asthma medicine daily use a peak flow meter several times a day.

How to Use the Peak Flow Meter

  • Set the marker to the bottom of the numeric scale.
  • Take a deep breath. Be sure you are standing up.
  • Place your lips tight around the mouthpiece.
  • Talk a big deep breath in.
  • Blow as hard and fast as possible. Blast the air out fast!
  • Note the final position of the marker. This is your peak flow rate.

Inhalers

Metered dose inhaler:

This is a small canister that contains the medication you need to control your asthma or relieve bronchospasms during an asthma episode (Advair HFA, Symbicort, ProAir HFA, Xopenex HFA, Albuterol HFA, Flovent HFA, Q-Var HFA, etc.). Proper inhaler technique must be performed to efficiently receive the medicine.

  1. Shake inhaler and place in your spacer. You may need to remove the inhaler from the canister if your spacer requires no case.
  2. Take 2 or 3 slow and deep warm up breaths.
  3. Sit up straight and be sure you are holding your head looking straight ahead.
  4. Slowly exhale.
  5. Place inhaler in your mouth, and then spray one spray.
  6. Slowly breathe in and hold your breath at least 10 seconds.
  7. Remove the spacer from your mouth and slowly exhale.
  8. Properly place spacer back into your mouth and slowly breathe in again.
  9. Hold your breath at least 10 seconds then slowly exhale.
  10. Wait 1 to 3 minutes and repeat as ordered by your doctor. (Be sure to shake your inhaler again!) Rinse your mouth after using anti-inflammatory medications.

Dry powdered inhalers:

This is medication that is in powder form. (Advair Diskus, Pulmicort Flexhaler, Asmanex, etc.)

  1. Breathe out slowly.
  2. Put your mouth on the mouthpiece.
  3. Take a big deep breath in real fast.
  4. Hold your breath for 10 seconds.
  5. Blow out slowly.

Recent News

SuperUser Account
/ Categories: News

Allergist Joins OAAC Medical Providers

Maya N. Gharfeh, M.D.

Maya N. Gharfeh, M.D., has joined the Oklahoma Allergy & Asthma Clinic medical providers’ staff. Dr. Gharfeh treats both children and adults with asthma and allergic conditions. Her particular areas of expertise include atopic dermatitis, asthma, food allergy and delayed hypersensitivity. She is board-certified with the American Board of Allergy and Immunology and the American Board of Pediatrics.

Dr. Gharfeh was raised in Columbus, Ohio, and graduated from The Ohio State University in 2006 with her bachelor’s degree in Biology. She then attended medical school in Rootstown, Ohio, at Northeastern Ohio Medical University. During her medical school training, Dr. Gharfeh also pursued a public health degree from The Ohio State University with a specialty in health behavior and health promotion. She graduated from medical school and her master’s program in 2011 and moved back to Columbus, Ohio for her pediatric internship, residency and chief residency training at Nationwide Children’s Hospital/The Ohio State University.

She completed her fellowship training in Allergy and Immunology at Texas Children’s Hospital/Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. Following completion of her training, Dr. Gharfeh worked in Waco, Texas prior to moving to Oklahoma City in the spring of 2020 to join the team at Oklahoma Allergy and Asthma Clinic. 

She is a patient advocate and is passionate about educating her patients and the community on important topics in allergy and asthma. Dr. Gharfeh published on the efficacy of food allergy school education during her training and has continued to utilize this data to educate local school personnel on food allergy and epinephrine auto-injector use. Dr. Gharfeh also takes time to blog on these important issues as well as the real-life struggles of living with a food allergic child. During her free time, Dr. Gharfeh spends her time with her husband and their three young children. The Gharfeh family resides in Edmond and is eager to make the greater Oklahoma City area their new home. 

The Oklahoma Allergy & Asthma Clinic is one of the largest and oldest allergy and asthma practices in the United States celebrating 95 years in 2020. The main clinic is located on the Oklahoma Health Center campus.  For patient convenience, satellite offices are located in Edmond, Norman, Midwest City and Yukon. Visit the OAAC website at www.oklahomaallergy.com to view the addresses for all Oklahoma Allergy and Asthma Clinic locations.  To make an initial appointment for an allergy or asthma problem or to request more information, please call (405) 235-0040 or visit the website.

The post Allergist Joins OAAC Medical Providers appeared first on Oklahoma Allergy and Asthma Clinic.

Previous Article New Patient & Established Patient OAAC Guidelines Beginning May 11th
Next Article Oklahoma Allergy & Asthma Clinic Named Best of the Best Allergist/Allergy Clinic by Oklahoma Magazine
Print
146
Terms Of UsePrivacy StatementCopyright 2026 by Oklahoma Allergy and Asthma Clinic
Back To Top