World Asthma Day: Portsmouth children's nurse shares advice amid coronavirus outbreak

Covid-19 affects the lungs and can make breathing difficult. Those who are suffering with severe asthma and other respiratory conditions are being told to stay indoors in order to ‘shield’ themselves against the virus, however this does not mean that they cannot have the usual treatment they need in order to stay safe and well at home.

Children’s community asthma nurse Alyson Pearce is part of the Solent NHS team which is working with GPs, practice nurses and the hospital respiratory team to help keep children well, and is continuing to provide support including video consultations and telephone calls

Alyson said: ‘We are continuing to run our clinics, supporting our patients via telephone calls and video consultations. As you can expect, parents with vulnerable children are quite anxious at the moment and we are making sure we remain to be there for them. We are running a full service and I have spoken to each of my patients whilst working from home.

‘I’m passionate about providing the best care for my patients and their families and hope that simple steps will help both children and adults who are living with the condition at this uncertain and worrying time.’

Today marks World Asthma Day and asthma is amongst the most common long-term health conditions.

Alyson added: ‘The best thing patients can do is ensure they are taking their asthma preventer medication every day as prescribed, to keep their asthma as controlled as possible.

‘One of the most common mistakes we see is children or teenagers who do not have a plan or are not following the recommendations made by their GP. Another common error is inhaler technique. For children, we recommend administering the metered dosage inhaler with a spacer. Using a spacer makes it easier to get the right amount of medicine straight to the lungs, where it's needed the most. If your technique is not right, it’s likely your child will not receive the right dose.’

For information on all aspects of children’s health including asthma and Covid-19 visit what0-18.nhs.uk