Summer sports camps.....but what about allergies and asthma?

(Utah Asthma Program)

School is out, and it's time for daughter Kitty to go to summer soccer camp. It makes me nervous to send her to camp because of her allergies and asthma. What if she has an asthma attack?

Her allergies are really bad too, even though she's been having allergy shots for 5 years now. Her last skin test showed that she's no longer allergic to grass-kind of a big deal if you play soccer!! But what if she has problems with other allergies due to nearby flowers, plants and bushes?

What if she has an asthma attack? Will the coaching staff know how to handle it? It's not Kitty's normal coach-summer camp is usually run by a bunch of college aged kids.

Last fall I asked Kitty's coach to watch Winning With Asthma. It's a FREE short online video from the Minnesota and Utah state health departments. It teaches coaches what asthma is and how to treat an asthma attack.

Coach watched it and said he felt he would be able to help Kitty if she had an asthma attack. I'm there during games, but not during practice. I want to make sure she will be okay if she needs help.

Ask your child's coach if they will be willing to watch the short video. It's free and the health department will mail a clipboard to the coach. The clipboard includes a booklet that goes along with the video. And the back of the clipboard is printed with info on
  • common asthma triggers
  • signs and symptoms of an asthma attack
  • when to call 911
It only takes 30 minutes to watch the video, but it could save your coach a lot of time and heart ache if your child has an asthma attack and no one on the field knows what to do. It's better to be safe than sorry!


   

Comments

  1. AnonymousJune 3, 2013 at 1:04 AM

    Amazing Blog, I like how you are sharing your knowledge (and experience)with the world. I was diagnosed with asthma in 2010 at the age of 11 and from early 2012 the symptoms have gone. The doctors have warned me that at could arise after Puberty but hopefully I've outgrown it. Hopefully there will become a cure for asthma to stop people like you and your children (Maybe Me if diagnosed)suffering from asthma. I recently found a question posted on an online forum that i couldn't believe someone asked:
    http://www.answerology.com/index.aspx/question/3046672_dont-ask-me-why-but-how-do-you-get-asthma-on-purpose.html

    Hopefully a cure in the future, Keep up the blogging.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My Life as an Asthma MomJune 4, 2013 at 3:41 PM

      Hi Ben, there's some strange things out there. I don't know why someone would want to develop asthma. What a strange posting you ran across!

      Delete
  2. John Bennett MDJune 4, 2013 at 2:17 AM

    hello sarah

    good up-to-date info. This is not an advertisement, but just want to introduce a service which would be a complement to yours, and another weapon against asthma-education and dialogue.
    we have created an Asthma Forum at
    This address, moderated by an asthma mom, also to let asthma follerers interact.

    best
    john bennett md
    miami, florida

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My Life as an Asthma MomJune 4, 2013 at 3:43 PM

      Hi Dr. Bennett,

      Interesting forum, thank you for letting me know about it. I'll spend a little time on there. It's helpful to learn from other people and their experiences!

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  3. UnknownJuly 3, 2013 at 12:14 PM

    This is a great blog. Thanks for posting about all of this. I have struggled with this same situation for a while now too. My daughter goes to a soccer camp in the summer as well, and the team always goes for bus rental rather than have us drive. But that is risky because she is allergic to a lot of the cleaning supplies they use on buses. Your blog really encourages me though; thanks for posting.

    ReplyDelete

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