Every teacher and coach has students who’ve been diagnosed with asthma in their classroom or gymnasium, but many don’t know that asthma is a serious, potentially life-threatening condition. Understandably, students with asthma often resist activities they think will make it hard for them to breathe Read the rest of this entry »

Media stories abound about brain development and why teens are prone to risky and self-absorbed behavior, but the truth is that many young people today are accomplishing great things and thinking great thoughts! Read the rest of this entry »

South Dakota Is 50^th State to Protect Students’ Rights to Carry and Self-Administer Asthma Medication
Grassroots Triumph for Advocates, Legislators, and Parents of Students Across the U.S.

FAIRFAX, VA, March 1, 2010–Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA), the leading national patient advocacy and education organization for people with asthma and related conditions, hails South Dakota lawmakers for making it the 50^th and final state in America to establish laws protecting students’ rights to carry and self-administer their lifesaving asthma medication at school.

South Dakota’s law also enables children with anaphylaxis to carry and use auto-injectable epinephrine, making it the 45^th state to protect students’ rights to carry and use anaphylaxis medication at school. Five states — Mississippi, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Wisconsin — remain without laws allowing students to carry and self-administer anaphylaxis medication.

“South Dakota’s legislation closes the last chapter on schools that can deny a child with asthma the right to carry and use prescribed lifesaving inhalers nationwide,” said Nancy Sander, founder and president of AANMA. “Our children grew up in an era in which no medications of any type were allowed on school premises except in a nurse’s office, which was usually locked and staffed by a volunteer parent or school secretary. Best of intentions will not save the life of a student who can’t breathe, whether the child is having an asthma attack or suffering anaphylaxis.”

“This law will make a big difference in the lives of a number of people in South Dakota,” said Sen. Sandy Jerstad of the South Dakota Senate. “I was contacted by a mother of a child with asthma who was not always allowed to keep her medication with her.  Since then I’ve heard of similar situations in our state. I was happy to be part of an educational process that was very well-received in our legislature.”

“This is a common-sense piece of legislation,” said Rep. Timothy Rave of the South Dakota House of Representatives. “These children are more than qualified to administer this medication to themselves.  Only one person knows how short of breath you are, and that’s the person themselves. These are safe medications that provide lifesaving treatment — the individual should have immediate access to them.”

“Breathing is a right, not a privilege,” said Sandra Fusco-Walker, AANMA’s director of advocacy. “Tragically, there are students who are no longer with us because they died at school as a result of policies preventing them immediate access to their lifesaving medications.”

“I believe by passing this bill, lives will be saved,” said Rae O’Leary, RRT, AE-C, a registered respiratory therapist and certified asthma educator in Timber Lake, S.D., an advocate who worked with AANMA to get the bill passed. “Before this, it was only a matter of time until a student took their last breath because of a delayed response to medication at school. That clock has now stopped ticking for students of South Dakota with asthma and allergies, because they will no longer have to wait for their lifesaving medications during an attack.”

A milestone for students with asthma
AANMA spearheaded the movement to make sure that every student in the U.S. could have their lifesaving medications handy at school.

“It was at AANMA’s 2003 Asthma Awareness Day Capitol Hill that Representatives Cliff Stearns, Patrick Kennedy, Joe Barton and Nita Lowey and Senators Mike DeWine and Ted Kennedy heard and responded to our plea for help on behalf of schoolchildren with asthma and anaphylaxis,” Sander said.

AANMA worked with these legislators to craft the Asthmatic Schoolchildren’s Treatment and Health Management Act, ASTHMA 2004, which would provide funding preferences to encourage states to enact laws that guarantee students with a history of asthma or anaphylaxis the right to carry and self-administer their prescribed medications. It was signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2004.

“Our shouts of joy were quickly tempered by the enormous job in front of us — helping states create laws that were reasonable, responsible and medically sound,” Sander said. “And that’s just what AANMA has done with the support of our volunteers across the country, as well as organizations and corporations.”

“As a mom of three young children in the early ’90s, I became involved with AANMA because my daughter, Shannon, was not allowed to carry her inhaler with her at school or on the 30-minute bus ride to and from school,” said Fusco-Walker, who was instrumental in leading AANMA’s efforts to protect these rights for students. “Shannon had almost lost her life twice at the age of 5 and has required daily medications since that time. Immediate access to her lifesaving asthma inhaler is critical in an emergency, and it also gave Shannon a sense of confidence having her medication on hand. She is 23 today and can still vividly describe her terror when she suffered those attacks.”

“I’m very thankful to AANMA and Sandra Fusco-Walker, who testified for our committees by phone,” Jerstad said. “It must be very gratifying to now have all of our states included in this important piece of legislation.”

“We are proud of our South Dakota legislators for recognizing the importance of this bill and passing it unanimously,” O’Leary said. “We are also thankful to all the people and organizations that helped protect the rights of students with asthma and allergies.”

Up next: anaphylaxis

There are still five states without laws allowing students to carry and use anaphylaxis medication in school: Mississippi, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Wisconsin. (These states do allow students to carry and use asthma medications at school.) AANMA is working with advocates and legislators in these states. To find out more and to support these efforts, visit AANMA’s Advocacy page: www.aanma.org/advocacy

By Jan Gambino, MEd

When my daughters Rebecca, 15, and Jenna, 18, started coughing last year, I opened the medicine cabinet and reached for the inhalers, peak flow meters and nebulizer as usual. After years of dealing with their asthma, I knew how to wear the Dr. Mom hat pretty well. But this cough was worse than the ones we’d dealt with in the past. Read the rest of this entry »

AANMA hails South Dakota lawmakers for making it the 50th and final state in America to establish laws protecting students’ rights to carry and self-administer their lifesaving asthma medication at school.

South Dakota’s law also enables children with anaphylaxis to carry and use auto-injectable epinephrine, making it the 45th state to protect students’ rights to carry and use anaphylaxis medication at school. Five states — Mississippi, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Wisconsin — remain without laws allowing students to carry and self-administer anaphylaxis medication. Read the rest of this entry »

Growing Up with Asthma: Advice from Jo Frost, Star of “Supernany”
Exclusive interview in Allergy & Asthma Today magazine

Fairfax, VA, Dec. 7, 2009 –Parenting expert Jo Frost instructs and inspires many beleaguered parents on her hit ABC show, “Supernanny.” Now she brings her trademark no-nonsense advice and indomitable spirit to help guide parents of children with asthma and other respiratory conditions in a new exclusive interview with Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA)’s Allergy & Asthma Today magazine.

Jo stresses the importance of raising self-reliant children in Part 1 of AAT’s two-part interview in the new Holiday Issue of the magazine. “Asthma and suffering are two words that don’t belong together,” Jo says. “You solve asthma problems the way you do anything else in life: Define the problem, set a goal, make a plan, then get on with it.”

Jo’s inspiring personal story of growing up with asthma is woven into her thoughtful answers to readers’ submitted questions. AAT’s story runs alongside photos of Jo ascending Arizona’s Camelback Mountain – underscoring her determination to not let asthma get in the way of living her life to the fullest.

In Part 2 of the interview, which will appear in the Spring 2010 issue of Allergy & Asthma Today, Jo talks more about balancing asthma and family relationships. AANMA members receive Allergy & Asthma Today free with their annual membership. To subscribe, go to www.aanma.org/aat.

Give the gift of healthy breathing
A subscription to Allergy & Asthma Today is the perfect gift for your loved one, whether it’s a family member, friend, colleague, a parent in your child’s class, school nurse – or anyone else you may know who could benefit from AAT’s practical, family-friendly articles. Each article and department in AAT is submitted for medical review before it’s printed in the magazine. Don’t miss out on features such as AAT’s exclusive interview with Jo Frost and other exciting stories slated for 2010!

To purchase a subscription as a gift for a loved one, go to www.aanma.org/aat.

About AANMA
Founded in 1985, Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics is the leading national nonprofit family organization dedicated to eliminating suffering and death due to asthma, allergies and related conditions. AANMA’s core areas of expertise are education, advocacy and outreach. The organization’s www.aanma.org website and award-winning publications, Allergy & Asthma Today magazine and The MA Report online newsletter, are consumer lifelines to medical news and healthy living.

For more information, call 800.878.4403 or visit www.aanma.org. You can also follow AANMA on Twitter and Facebook.

Contact: Marcela Gieminiani
703-641-9595, ext. 109

Read the rest of this entry »

Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics Offers Healthy Back-to-School Tips for Children with Asthma and Allergies

FAIRFAX, VA, JULY 27, 2009—As students head back to school, parents of children with allergies and asthma have some good news to celebrate. Thanks to Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA) members and other supporters, new laws in Louisiana, Connecticut and Georgia give students the right to carry and self-administer their medications. (For more details, read AANMA’s press release here.)

As states and schools make these changes, parents and pediatricians are also making changes: They are checking students to see if they are ready for the responsibility for carrying and using inhalers and auto-injectable epinephrine.

Asthma and anaphylaxis self-management begins at home

If you want to know whether your child is ready to self-medicate, the answer is not age- or grade-dependent. Kids with asthma or anaphylaxis must learn to self-medicate at some point. Like learning to tie their shoes or recite their ABCs, they’ll need to practice what they learn and have the supportive reinforcement of parents and teachers throughout the process.

To help parents decide if children are ready to self-medicate, AANMA put together the following questions. See how your answers match up with your child’s answers. These are the best clues to determining your child’s readiness to manage symptoms at school.

Asthma

• Does your child use an inhaler (preferably with a holding chamber) correctly at home?
• Does he know the name of his medication and when he is supposed to use it?
• Does he stay calm when having asthma symptoms?
• Does he tell you when he is having symptoms or when he has used the inhaler?
• Does he use a peak flow meter?
• Does your child carry his inhaler with him at all times?
• Does he understand that the inhaler is not a toy and should not be shared with friends?

Anaphylaxis

• Is your child able to use auto-injectable epinephrine correctly without assistance?
• Does your child know what to do immediately after using the auto-injectable epinephrine? (The right answer is to tell an adult to take him to the hospital.)
• Does your child wear a medical identification tag or bracelet for use in emergency situations?
• Does he understand that auto-injectable epinephrine is not a toy and should not be shared with friends?

“Yes” answers indicate a ready and willing student. “No” answers represent an opportunity to teach your child new skills and bolster his confidence so that when the time comes (and it will come) to make a medical decision, he is more likely to make the right one.

Then there is the question of maturity. Does your child demonstrate a responsible attitude and respect for his symptoms, his medications and the need to avoid situations that place him at risk?

Students who self-manage symptoms must be willing to notify teachers, the school nurse or designated administrator when they need to use their inhalers to treat symptoms or when they are having an anaphylactic reaction. They must be willing to tell their parents about all medication use or symptoms experienced while away from home.

Not all students are ready to self-manage asthma or anaphylaxis at school. If not, school personnel will need to ensure that the student’s medication travels with him from one classroom to the next to prevent treatment delays in times of need. Your child’s allergy or asthma management plan should specify this.

Whether students self-manage symptoms and medications or have assistance while at school, parents need to ensure that backup medication is available in the school clinic should the child become separated from his medication at any time. Parents must also complete required forms and keep them updated during the school year if contact information or emergency treatment plans change.

More back-to-school tips from AANMA:

• When is it okay for your child to go to school—and when should he or she stay home?
• Some children have life-threatening food allergies. As a parent, how can you make sure that your child is safe during lunchtime at school?
• Student-athletes with asthma and allergies can thrive on the playing field as long as they’re careful. Here are some tips.
  

About AANMA
Founded in 1985, Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics is the leading national nonprofit family organization dedicated to eliminating suffering and death due to asthma, allergies and related conditions. AANMA’s core areas of expertise are education, advocacy and outreach. The organization’s www.aanma.org website and award-winning publications, Allergy & Asthma Today magazine and The MA Report newsletter, are consumer lifelines to medical news and healthy living. For more information, call 800.878.4403.

For more information, contact Marcela Gieminiani at (703) 641-9595 ext. 109.

New state legislation allows students to carry asthma and anaphylaxis medications in school

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 30, 2009—Connecticut and Louisiana have become the 48th and 49th states to enact laws allowing students to carry and self-administer life-saving asthma Read the rest of this entry »