At secondary school
When you’re at secondary school, you might want to begin managing your asthma by yourself. You could start by:
- taking your reliever inhaler to school every day. If you use a spacer, remember to take this to school too. Keep it with you at all times, especially during PE and school trips
- keeping a copy of your asthma action plan with you at school. This has everything you need to know about your asthma on it, in case you forget
- telling your teachers or other school staff about your asthma and how it affects you
- learning when you need to use your reliever inhaler and what to do if you’re having an asthma attack
- finding out if your school has an emergency reliever inhaler and where it’s kept, in case you forget yours.
We have more information about managing asthma on your own, including advice about moving to adult asthma services.
Emergency reliever inhalers
Your school might have an emergency reliever inhaler that you can use if your own is not available. For example, if your reliever inhaler is lost or broken.
If you would like to be able to use one of these, your parents need to give consent to your school.
Not all schools have emergency inhalers. If your school does not have emergency reliever inhalers, tell them that emergency inhalers can help prevent unnecessary hospital trips and save lives.
Find out more about emergency reliever inhalers.
At university
Going to university is a big change, and we have advice that can help with the transition. Find out more about living with asthma as a young person. Our advice includes information about things like moving out, managing your mental health and drinking alcohol.
Disabled Students Allowance (DSA)
Disabled Student’s Allowance (DSA) can help you cover extra costs you might have as a university student with a long-term health condition or disability.
If your asthma has a substantial effect on how you do everyday activities, then you can apply for DSA. You do not have to consider yourself disabled to apply for DSA.
UCAS have more advice about Disabled Student’s Allowance, including information about how to apply.
Missing classes or deadlines
If you’re missing classes or deadlines because of your asthma, speak to somebody at your school, college or university as soon as possible. They can offer you more support.
For example, your teachers or tutors might be able to give you notes or recordings from any missed classes.
This is called making reasonable adjustments and is part of the government’s Equality Act. Disability Rights UK has a sample list of reasonable adjustments you could ask for if you’re living with a medical condition like asthma.
Even if you do not consider your asthma to be a disability, extra support and special arrangements like this could help you.
Exams, assessments and asthma
Mitigating circumstances
If your asthma affects how you do in an exam or assessment, you might be able to apply for special consideration. This is sometimes called mitigating or extenuating circumstances.
The kind of help you could get depends on the type of exam you’re taking:
You can get special consideration if your asthma unexpectedly makes you unwell during your exam. For example, if you have an asthma attack.
If you get special consideration, your examiner is allowed to give you a small amount of extra marks. The exact amount you get depends on how unwell your asthma made you during your exam.
You cannot get special consideration just because you have asthma or if asthma made it hard for you to revise.
Speak to a teacher or member of staff at your school or college for more information about special consideration.
Each university in the UK sets its own special consideration policy. Your university’s policy might include things like deadline extensions, exam resits or changes to your marks.
You can ask one of your tutors for more information about your university’s policy.
Stress and your mental health
It’s okay to feel nervous or a bit stressed about exams.
Small amounts of stress can help you focus on things like schoolwork and revision, but being too stressed can affect your physical and mental health. Stress can also trigger your asthma symptoms and cause asthma attacks.
This is why managing any stress caused by exams is important. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by exams, find out how to lower the risk of stress affecting your asthma.
You could also read YoungMinds’ advice about coping with exam pressure. This includes practical advice about taking care of yourself during exam season.
Hay fever
Exams often happen during pollen season. If you have hay fever, it can trigger asthma symptoms like coughing, wheezing, a tight chest and shortness of breath.
Find out how to manage your hay fever so that it’s less likely to cause an asthma attack or make you feel unwell during exams.
