- Checklist: Managing Asthma in Schools

Help manage asthma in your school with these tips for controlling asthma triggers:

• Eliminate Secondhand Smoke Exposure - Enforce no-smoking policies in the school.
• Reduce Dust Mite Exposure - Dust and vacuum your school thoroughly and regularly.
• Clean Up Mold and Control Moisture - Control the indoor climate to prevent mold growth-manage humidity, clean up spills, and prevent moisture condensation. Learn about the formula for mold growth.
• Control Cockroach Allergens - Use integrated pest management (IPM) practices to prevent cockroach and other pest problems (e.g., store food in tightly sealed containers and place dumpsters away from the building).
• Control Animal Allergens – Remove furry classroom pets from the school, if possible. If not, relocate them away from sensitive students and ventilation systems.

For long-term results, put a program in place to manage asthma year round!

• Use the IAQ Tools for Schools Action Kit – Help people with asthma by reducing triggers and improving the school environment with the good IAQ practices recommended in this kit.
• Develop an Asthma Management Program in Your School - Include school policies on inhaler and medication usage, emergency procedures for school staff when a student has an asthma attack. Obtain the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Managing Asthma: A Guide for Schools. Updated National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) sample emergency protocols and other materials are also available.
• Provide School-Based Asthma Education Programs - Contact your local American Lung Association about Open Airways or the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America about Power Breathing. These are school-based asthma management programs for students with asthma.
• File Student Asthma Action Cards – Make sure students with asthma obtain and turn in copies of their action cards to the school nurse. Encourage students and their caregivers to identify their asthma triggers and steps they can take to reduce these triggers.
• Gather Additional Asthma Information and Resources - Partner with a community organization near your school and establish a complete file on existing asthma and allergy-related information sources to reference throughout the school year.