Back to school with allergy and asthma

For students with allergies and asthma, back to school means more than getting their backpacks filled with paper, pencils and any needed odds and ends. Keeping your child safe and healthy involves creating a proactive plan to be implemented both at home and at school. Allergy doctors refer to these plans as control programs because the goal is prevention and control.

Food allergies can cause anaphylaxis, the total body allergic reaction with shortness of breath, hives, low blood pressure, vomiting, diarrhea and potentially death. Avoidance is the treatment. If an accident happens and the stude...