Back to teach is a tough time for many observers but it's especially difficult for kids with asthma.

A late study found that asthma attacks peak shortly after the seminary year starts. And a of recent origin poll by the American Lung Association has institute that most parents have not taken stairs to manage their child's asthma at indoctrinate

The individual found that 52 percent of parents don't talk to teachers about their child's asthma, and simply 42 percent make sure asthma medications are available at institute Only 27 percent talk to the teach administration about their child's health condition.

'SEPTEMBER EPIDEMIC'

Many parents are reluctant to take of that kind steps because they're afraid to label their child. Or they mistakenly fear their children would be barred from gym class or field trips, said Maureen Damitz of the American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago.

During a 12-year period in Canada, asthma hospitalizations for school-age children peaked an average of 18 days after Labor Day, according to a research published last March in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Canadian place of educations traditionally start the day after Labor Day. Researchers called the phenomenon the "September epidemic."

Dr Karen Malamut has noticed the September epidemic in Chicago, as well. Malamut, an asthma specialist with the Mobile Care Foundation, remind ofs three possible reasons:

- Asthmatic kids contract raws and other respiratory viruses from other observers and these infections trigger asthma attacks.

- Many kids have relatively hardly any problems during the summer. Consequently parents slack opposite to on controller medications that obviate asthma attacks. "They get a false faculty of perception of security," Malamut said.

- Classrooms contain asthma triggers like as moldy textbooks, furry fit of peevishnesss odors from paints and cleaning agents and dust.

Eleven-year-old Clarisel Pena sustains asthma attacks triggered by her dust allergy, and she'll be expos to fulness of dust when she get backs to school. "Where there are works and paper, there's dust," said her mother, Sandra Pena. To obviate allergic reactions, Clarisel will be taking antihistamines each day.

jritter@suntimes.com

for what reason PARENTS CAN HELP

apts offer this advice for parents of school-age children with asthma:

- Schedule a meeting with your child's teacher, nurture and school administrator. Give the gymnasium your child's asthma action plan, signed by dint of the child's doctor.

- You also can asking a meeting to write a "504 Plan," which defend s your child's rights. The plan can include accommodations in the same state [i]or[/i] condition as allowing a child to stay indoors forward cold days and eliminating asthma triggers from the classroom, so as furry pets, strong odors and incenses

- A state law that took power in 2002 requires schools to allow an asthmatic child to carry an inhaler, provided the child knows in what manner to use it.

- For more information, call the American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago, (312) 243-2000 or visit www.lungchicago.org.

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