Severe asthma in young people up by 300% across Wales
The Head of charity Asthma UK is calling on teachers to take the condition seriously.
Parents and teachers in Wales are being urged to be extra vigilant as new figures show emergency hospital admissions for children with asthma soar when they head back to school.
The latest official figures show an average 304% rise in emergency asthma admissions among children aged five to 16 in September compared with August.
That works out at around four times as many children being admitted — with an average of 96 admissions in September, compared with 24 in August.
Asthma + Lung UK Cymru says more than 40,000 children in Wales live with the condition.
The charity says asthma routines can sometimes slip during the summer holidays, leaving children more vulnerable when they return to classrooms and come into contact with triggers including viruses, colds and dust.
Head of the Charity in Wales, Joseph Carter said he " four times as many children are hospitalised with asthma" at this time of year added that " around 100 children are admitted to hospital with Asthma every August"
He attributed part of this risk to the " viruses, colds and dust" that students are more frequently subject to in the school environment saying that they usually see a spike in these severe cases around September when schools return
Parents are being reminded to make sure children take their steroid preventer inhaler every day, as prescribed, and have their reliever inhaler with them at school.
They are also being encouraged to arrange an annual asthma review, make sure schools have an up-to-date asthma action plan, and ask their GP about an additional reliever inhaler for use at school in an emergency.