HMR Children's Respiratory Specialists

10/08/2025

As we head back to school after a fun-filled summer, it's important to be prepared and asthma-safe! 🌟
September is the month where we see more children hospitalised with asthma.

Here are a few tips to help you or your child manage asthma as the school year begins:

1. Update Your Asthma Action Plan, Make sure your asthma action plan is current and share it with school.

2. Pack Your Inhaler - Always have a blue reliever inhaler on hand, and ensure it’s labeled and accessible.

3. Communicate -Inform teachers and staff about asthma triggers and what to do in case of an emergency. This will also be on the asthma action plan.

4. Stay Informed - Keep track of any allergy or asthma triggers in your school environment, like dust or mold, and speak up if you notice any.

5. Routine Matters - Stick to your asthma management routine, including taking prescribed medication, even when you feel fine.

Let's make this school year a healthy and safe one! 🍎🏫

21/05/2025

We celebrated International Nurses Day in clinic, we were treated to some gifts by our lovely managers, this included a very large cake which was held up by one of our little asthma patients Ella and she also took a big slice home 💕 Thank you for helping us celebrate Ella 🎉

08/05/2025

We had a question about dealing with exam stress, this may be helpful

As exam season starts, you can help your child cope with stress and anxiety. Visit the NHS website for help and advice.

➡️ https://nhs.uk/mental-health/children-and-young-adults/advice-for-parents/help-your-child-beat-exam-stress/

07/05/2025

Good Morning everyone,

As it was national asthma day yesterday, Myself and Sarah have decided to go Live on Facebook tomorrow evening at 6pm. Nicky is on her holidays :)

We will discuss topics around Hay fever and how it affects asthma, some new treatment guidance and we will also discuss when to re start your inhalers if you do not use them in the summer months.

Please get involved and join us for a chat :)

06/05/2025

Today is world Asthma day, it is so important to raise asthma awareness. We are planning an asthma live hopefully on Thursday this week. Please join us, details to follow tomorrow

Did you know that , smoke, dust, and pollen can trigger dangerous attacks?

With the right inhaled treatment and clean air policies, we can fight back.

24/04/2025

Good morning,

It's going to be warm next week in North West England. I hope you all remember your sun cream and sun hats 🙂 Hot weather can be an asthma trigger for some.

🔴Carry your blue reliever inhaler with you at all times
🔴Take your preventer inhaler as prescribed
🔴Don't leave your inhalers in direct sunlight
🔴Avoid being outdoors from 11am-3pm
🔴Drink lots of water to prevent you getting dehydrated.
🔴When you're indoors, keep the doors and windows closed

Have a lovely week :)

08/04/2025

We have seen so many children this week who are being triggered by tree pollens. It’s so important to get your hay fever symptoms under control so your asthma remains stable.
Some helpful tips include:

Take an antihistamine ideally in the evening
Keep windows closed
Try not to hang clothes out on the washing line when the pollen count is high
Use Vaseline around your nostrils to trap the pollen before it reaches your nasal passages
Wear wrap around sunglasses 😎
Any other ideas welcome 🌸🌷🌸🌷

If your hayfever is still out of control speak to your GP

27/03/2025

Good afternoon,

Tree pollen is quite high at the moment and the usual suspects Ash and birch are pictured below.
Asthma can be triggered by hay fever. Please remember your antihistamines if you suffer.

28/02/2025

Good afternoon
Unfortunately virus season is still very much upon us and many of you are suffering with chest infections, tonsillitis and ear infections to name a few.
90% of children are triggered by these viruses.
The virus makes sensitive airways very twitchy which can cause a cough and a wheeze.
The best advice during these times are to use the blue reliever inhaler 2-6 puffs 4-6 hourly to open up the airways and stop the twitching.
If you or your child is needing more than 6 puffs 4 hourly then urgent medical attention is required as children can deteriorate fairly quickly.
We hope you all stay well but the good news is that Spring is trying to arrive, we are expecting temperatures to rise to double figures by the end of the week 🙂
We are looking forward to saying goodbye to winter

21/02/2025

Good afternoon,
I have mentioned this previously but lets talk about your reliever inhaler salbutamol.
We have received a lot of feedback and complaints from worried parents. Parents are reporting that they cannot collect repeat prescriptions for their child's salbutamol.
The reason for this is purely down to safeguarding your child. In an ideal world if your child is on a preventer inhaler they should not be needing frequent salbutamol as their asthma should be well controlled. GP's only expect to prescribe no more than 2 reliever inhalers a year. You can request one for school on top of this.
If your child is requiring salbutamol more than two to three times a week then this would indicate a concern. At this point your GP would say we cannot give anymore salbutamol without reviewing your child's asthma.
We do advise the use of salbutamol for colds/viruses as 90% of children are triggered by this. This is usually alongside a preventer inhaler.
Salbutamol before, during and after strenuous exercise is also acceptable.
Unfortunately a lot of people rely solely on salbutamol instead of taking a preventer regularly and this leads to poorly controlled asthma and maybe an asthma attack. The reliever inhaler does not treat airway inflammation which is causing the problem.
Many people worry about giving their child inhaled steroids and are unsure how it works. If you have any concerns regarding the preventer inhaler then have a discussion with your asthma nurse/practice nurse or GP. They will hopefully alleviate any anxieties.
Hope this was helpful

12/02/2025

Good afternoon all,
It's the time of year where many children are suffering with their asthma.
We find that colds and viruses are the biggest trigger and the very cold weather is not helping.
Sometimes your child or you may need a short course of steroids (usually prednisolone) to get you or your child back on track.
Prednisolone is usually given as a rescue medication for 3-5 days for an acute asthma attack.
Prednisolone quickly reduces the inflammation in the airways which causes your child to cough, wheeze, become short of breath or experience chest tightness. In younger children they may tell you they have tummy ache as they cannot communicate chest tightness.
Steroids are hormones that occur naturally within our bodies and although Prednisolone is man made it is very similar to our natural hormones.
It is important to note that the steroids we use in asthma are corticosteroids and are very different to anabolic steroids which some body builders may use.
A short course of steroids usually causes no long term side effects.
If your child requires steroid tablets then they will also require their blue (reliever) inhaler. You can give 4-6 puffs 4-6 hourly, this will open up the airways and settle them down.

Hope that helps

31/01/2025

I thought I would describe what a wheeze is as it is very common in children at this time of year.
It is easy to confuse a wheeze with the noisy mucousy breathing sounds that come from the throat.
The British Thoracic Society describe wheezing as ‘a continuous high-pitched musical sound coming from the chest’. But each child is different, so it’s important to know what to listen out for in your child and whether they wheeze when breathing in or breathing out.
Asthma uk gathered some feedback from parents and they describe their child’s wheeze in different ways, for example:
“A whistling noise coming from his lungs every time he breathes out."
“A high-pitched squeaky sound. And if she takes a big breath in the middle of a sentence when she’s talking, that’s how I know she needs a puff of her blue inhaler,”
A wheeze is common in asthma but many young children can suffer with a wheeze when they get a virus (nearly a third of all children). This is known as a viral induced wheeze it does not necessarily mean they have asthma.
Pre school children and babies have very small airways and they can become irritated by the virus and twitchy. The airways can tighten up and the whistling wheezy noise is the sound of the air passing through tight airways.
Commonly children are treated with the blue reliever inhaler and spacer and sometimes oral steroids.
If your child is wheezing they need to be seen by a medical professional for assessment and treatment.