Strategies to Address Allergies’
Impact on Students with Asthma

 

Breathe Pennsylvania is pleased to announce a new school nurse CEU training that will be taught by our Certified Asthma Educators: Jeannie Simms, BA, AE-C and Jessica Schuman, RN, BSN, AE-C.

Breathe Pennsylvania and the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing are jointly providing “Strategies to Address Allergies’ Impact on Students with Asthma.”  Nurses participating in the learning activity and completing the evaluation may be awarded a maximum of 3 continuing nursing education contact hours.  The University of Pittsburgh is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

Why is a training on allergies and asthma important?

    • 10-20% of children have skin allergies
    • 10% have respiratory allergies
    • 9% have hay fever
    • 8-10% have asthma and
    • 4-6% of these children have food allergies

In school we see these statistics:

    • Studies show that 16%–18% of children with food allergies have had a reaction from accidentally eating food allergens while at school. 
    • In addition, 25% of the severe and potentially life-threatening reactions (anaphylaxis) reported at schools, happened in children with no previous diagnosis of food allergy.

This 3 hour training will cover:

  • Define and differentiate asthma & allergy.
  • Describe common allergies, symptoms, and treatment.
  • Explain how allergies impact students with asthma.
  • Demonstrate how to assess and handle asthma and allergy in the school setting, utilizing asthma/allergy action plans which assign roles for school management.

This training is rich with interactive case studies and answers to questions posed by our local school nurses. Some of these questions include:

  • Can I Use Another Student’s EpiPen to Save a Child’s Life?
  • Can we use an Epi-pen for an asthma attack
  • If there is an asthma/ allergy emergency, what can I do while waiting for the ambulance?
  • Can poorly managed asthma affect sleep and academic performance?

And more!

For additional information or to schedule a program, please contact Jeannie Simms at jsimms@breathepa.org

 

1. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/conditions/allergy_and_asthma/allergy_and_asthma_statistics_85,P00037
2. https://www.bcbs.com/the-health-of-america/reports/childhood-allergies-america
3. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/foodallergies/pdf/13_243135_A_Food_Allergy_Web_508.pdf