Tasmanian students breathe easier with Asthma Schools Program

Tasmanian children and their parents can now breathe easier thanks to a new schools
program aimed at reducing the physical discomfort and mental anguish of students living
with asthma and severe allergies.

With 83 per cent of schools across the state now signed up to the Asthma Foundation of
Tasmania’s Asthma and Anaphylaxis Active schools program, the Foundation has set the
challenge to achieve 100 per cent.

“Children with asthma have sensitive airways that when exposed to certain triggers make it
hard for them to breathe,” Ms Beswick said.

“Apart from it being intensely traumatic to have an asthma attack, as the victim is being
suffocated by their own body, the simple fact is asthma can kill.”

Ms Beswick said with recent studies showing almost every person who had died from
anaphylaxis had also suffered from uncontrolled asthma, AFT had recently made the move
to combine its existing asthma awareness training with anaphylaxis training.

“Anaphylaxis is the most severe form of allergic reaction and can be fatal,” Ms Beswick said.
“The reality is anaphylaxis rates in Australia are increasing dramatically, largely due to a
five-fold increase in peanut allergies observed in young children over the past 10 years.”

Ms Beswick said the Asthma and Anaphylaxis Active program was designed to be easily
implemented by busy schools, with the ultimate aim of decreasing the likelihood of loss of
life due to asthma and severe allergies.

“The program is a practical response to the almost overwhelming pressure on school staff to
implement extra training and accreditation,” she said.

“The entry-level accreditation is centred around asthma awareness, concentrating on
simple, practical measures to help children with asthma.”

Campbell Street Primary Principal Monique Carter, who recently implemented the program,
said it had not only provided great comfort to her students with asthma and their families,
but also the staff at the school.
Asthma Foundation