CALGARY – Alberta Health Services (AHS) reminds parents of the September spike in pediatric asthma flare-ups that occurs approximately two weeks after the start of the new school year.
AHS hospitals and emergency departments, as well as those throughout Canada, experience a spike in asthma visits and admissions in September when about 20 to 25 per cent of yearly hospital admissions for asthma occur.
The most frequent asthma trigger is the common cold (85 per cent), which is often brought on by kids being back in close contact with each other, sharing drinks and snacks, seasonal temperature changes, mould, seasonal smoke and other environmental allergens, and germ exposure in classrooms.
Other causes for this seasonal increase in asthma can include poor asthma management during the summer months, seasonable holiday and summer breaks from asthma medications, as well as stress from going back to school.