Early Warning Signs
Besides avoiding various allergic agents in the environment, the child care provider needs to monitor activities such as exercise or playing in cold, damp weather — especially if your child encounters breathing difficulties or starts to wheeze.
The child care provider should immediately stop the child's activity and, if known, remove what may be causing the allergic reaction or remove the child from the current area. The provider should then calm the child, and use medication prescribed for an attack.
In Case of Emergency
Child care providers can use reminders from special care plans as guides for determining when emergency medical help is necessary. First, you should be notified immediately when emergency “rescue” medication is required and symptoms persist. Also, you should be notified if two or more doses of rescue medication are needed during the day and a peak flow meter shows 50 to 80 percent of normal — even with the rescue medication.
Essential
Once participating in a child care program, you should discuss with providers the most effective ways to keep apprised of any changes related to a child's asthma — for instance, fatigue or lethargy — while attending the child care program so any problems can be quickly addressed.
Under a care plan, emergency help will be summoned if the child does not improve fifteen minutes after treatment with a rescue medication and shows the following signs or symptoms: difficulty walking, talking, eating, or drinking because of shortness of breath; gray or blue lips and fingernails; hunched over or sucked-in chest or neck muscles when struggling to breathe; highly agitated or sleepy; complaints of chest pains and tightness; red face with grunting; or peak flow that is less than 50 percent of normal.
Away from the Child Care Site
While you try to make sure that your child with asthma is monitored at home and at the child care site, one area may slip out of consideration: handling those emergency situations away from those locations such as on a bus or on a field trip. All drivers, passenger monitors, chaperones, and assistants should receive instructions on how to handle emergency situations that involve a chronic condition such as asthma and have all medications, asthma management plans, and equipment with them for all trips.
In this instance, a driver and chaperone should have an emergency list that includes parent emergency contacts, child summary health information, special needs, and treatment plans.
Alert!
Employees of a child care provider — such as bus drivers — should be trained to recognize the signs of a medical emergency, such as an asthma attack. They should know emergency procedures to follow, and have on-hand necessary emergency supplies or medications. They also should be able to map an appropriate route to an emergency facility if necessary.
