Albuterol Inhalers
Some schools forbid
students carrying Albuterol inhalers in their
pocket. Not a good rule. Administration
fears drug addiction. Every year I learn
of a death from a delay in obtaining
treatment soon enough. Sometimes seconds
count. By the time the school nurse
arrives, it may be too late. I supply
children both with a pocket inhaler and a
letter to the school indicating the
necessity for it.
ALBUTEROL ABUSE. Some children develop
dependency on their albuterol inhaler.
Some get hooked; they experience a high
with its use. Others misunderstand its
action, falsely believing it a substitute
for the inhaled steroids. They treat their
persistent asthma as if it were
intermittent asthma. Both the school nurse
and the doctor ought to reference
frequency of use. We are team mates in
defense of the child.
SIGNAL OF ABUSE. Prescription renewals of
more than one canister a month of albuterol signal albuterol abuse. It may
suggest what school principles fear most,
drug abuse.
Bill Ziering
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