THE NHS is calling on parents to keep asthma medicine close at hand this week, with children up to three times more likely to need medical help as the school year starts.

One in ten young people has asthma, with spikes in demand for help from GPs and hospitals in the weeks after school holidays, and an annual peak for children in September.

A recent analysis published by Public Health England found that GP appointments for children with asthma increase this month, while the total number of emergency hospital admissions for asthma typically jumps between August and September from around 3,500 to more than 6,000.

The combination of coughs and colds circulating, children getting out of the habit of using inhalers during the summer break, air pollution and the stress of term starting, is thought to contribute to the spike in asthma cases.

Jacqueline Cornish, national clinical director, Children and Young People and Transition to Adulthood, NHS England said:

“Millions of families know that asthma can bring stress and trauma, but simple common sense measures like taking medicines at the right time, giving children a spare puffer to take to school and checking in with a pharmacist for inhaler checks, can help parents manage the annual onset of ‘asthma season’ and go a long way to helping keep your child well and out of hospital."