Many students struggle with asthma and suffer silently due to their peers’ lack of knowledge. Asthma is a common disease that affects one in twelve people which is equivalent to about 167 people in regards to the Colonial Forge student population. About one in two people with asthma will experience an asthma attack in their lifetime.

“Asthma is different for everyone,” Pam Gutter said.

Asthma is an extremely fatal disease that on average kills 11 people a day. Many attacks can be prevented, we can also do our part by being mindful of our surrounding peers, and about half of them can be prevented if you are mindful of your peers.

It sucks when you’re sitting in class and somebody sprays their perfume or cologne in your presence. Having a full blown anxiety attack because you know that you’re about to choke and you don’t want to cough because Covid is still a thing. You also don’t want people to look at you like you have a disease, so you suffer silently.

“Even If it doesn’t look like asthma, doesn’t mean it’s not asthma,” Pam Gutter, a Colonial Forge Nurse, stated.

Certain smells trigger attacks, especially strong perfumes. Good samaritans should be mindful of what type of perfumes, scented sprays, lotions, and sanitizers we are wearing since some may be triggered by strong scents or smells.

If you would still like to wear perfume around asthmatic individuals, you can spray a few pumps on your clothes twenty-four hours before you come in contact with your asthmatic peers.

Polluted air, dust particles, poor air quality, animals/animal hair, and smoke can also trigger asthma attacks. While you can’t control these things, you can absolutely prevent them by dusting and vacuuming two to three times a week.

A humidifier can also prevent poor air quality and polluted air by adding helpful moisture and humidity into the air, which improves air quality and filters out harmful microbes.

“My asthma attacks usually last two to five minutes, and I just feel like I can’t breathe and I cough a lot,” Allie Guerrero said.

If you witness someone having an asthma attack, you can help by keeping them calm and asking about an inhaler. If they do not have an inhaler then you can proceed by sitting them in an upright position.