A common childhood disease can negatively affect school performance, but Missouri’s school nurses are doing everything they can to turn that around. Asthma affects one in 12 school-aged children and, when poorly controlled, it’s likely to cause disruptions for the entire classroom.
It’s estimated that 150,000 school-aged children in Missouri have asthma, but school nurses say much can be done to help kids succeed in school despite this chronic lung condition. Children with asthma can experience wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and trouble breathing. Although the exact cause of asthma is unknown and there’s no cure yet, it can be controlled.
Deb Cook has been a school nurse in the Kennett School District for 26 years and knows asthma can make it difficult for kids to learn.
Asthma also is the third-leading cause of hospitalizations in children under 15, and a leading cause of school absenteeism. But Cook says many trips to the nurse’s office or emergency room can be avoided when asthma is controlled. She notes that kids often come to school without their asthma medicine or inhaler.
In Missouri, some areas have more cases of asthma than others. Cook is with the Kennett School District, where 17-percent of kids have asthma, compared to five percent in some other districts. She says variations from one district to another can often be attributed to poverty levels, higher rates of smoking by parents, or the use of chemicals on nearby farm crops.
State data indicate Missouri has one of the highest smoking rates among pregnant women in the U.S., with one in 15 reporting that they smoking during pregnancy.
