Hot off the Helpline: September edition

Meet the team 

This month, meet Suzanne. 

Suzanne is one of our Respiratory Nurse Specialists on the helpline. 

She’s been a Respiratory Nurse Specialist for 27 years, and worked for A+LUK for the past 5 years 

Suzanne previously worked in hospital as a Clinical Nurse Specialist covering many aspects of respiratory care and management. These included severe asthma clinics, interstitial lung diseases, COPD, bronchiectasis and oxygen assessment. 

Suzanne has a special interest in Interstitial lung disease and is keen to support people with lung conditions and their families in managing all aspects of their care. 

Top questions on the helpline this month 

Dose counters – why does my inhaler not have one ? 

It can be hard to tell when your inhaler is empty. Even when there's no medicine left, an empty pMDI (pressurised metered dose inhaler) can still 'puff'. This might be a type of gas called a propellant, not the medicine you need. 

Some inhalers have a dose counter on the side. This tells you how many doses of the medicine are left in your inhaler. 

Some DPIs (dry powder inhalers) have an indicator that changes colour when your inhaler is empty. 

If your inhaler does not have a dose counter, you could write down how many doses you use each day in a diary or on your phone. 

To help you tell when your inhaler is empty, follow these steps: 

• Read the instruction leaflet, or ask your healthcare professional, how many doses are in your inhaler when it's new.
• Add up how many doses, or puffs, you take every day.
• Divide the total number of puffs in your inhaler by the number of puffs you take a day. This will give you the number of days your inhaler will last for.
• For example, if your inhaler contains 200 puffs and you take four puffs every day, your inhaler should last for 50 days (200 divided by four = 50).
• If you find it hard to track your doses, ask your GP or nurse about changing your inhaler to one with a dose counter. 

‘September can be a dangerous time for asthma, as colds and flu start to circulate when children return to school. This year’s spike could be worse than usual, with rising rates of measles and RSV putting more children at risk of ending up in hospital with breathing difficulties. This is why we are calling on parents to be prepared’.  

It’s really important that your child has their reliever inhaler with them at school or nursery in case their asthma symptoms flare up. 

Reliever inhalers are often blue. But some children may have a combination inhaler that they can also use as a reliever inhaler. For example, if they’re on a MART (Maintenance and Reliever Therapy) or AIR (anti-inflammatory reliever) treatment plan. 

The best way to make sure your child with asthma is being cared for properly by their school or nursery is to talk to your child’s teacher or nursery keyworker every term. 

Tell teachers and staff about your child’s asthma or suspected asthma. It’s important to make sure your child’s school or nursery knows about their asthma so they can help your child stay well. Find out who is in charge of asthma at your child’s school or nursery. You could invite them to the meeting too. 

Give your child’s school or nursery an asthma action plan. This keeps everything staff need about your child’s asthma or suspected asthma in one place, including information about their triggers, symptoms and medicines. It also explains what to do if your child has an asthma attack. 

Find out more about how asthma is treated in children. 

Important dates this month 

#AskAboutAsthma 2025 campaign (September 8-11th 2025) 

"Ask About Asthma" is a national campaign which ran  from September 8-14. It focused on preventing asthma deaths in children and young people following a National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) report. The campaign encourages four key actions: getting an asthma action plan, correctly using inhalers, having annual asthma reviews, and considering the impact of air pollution. The goal is to improve asthma control and prevent tragic, preventable asthma deaths, with a particular focus on the "September Spike" when attacks increase after the school holidays. 

The four key actions you can take: 

The campaign promotes these four key actions to help children and young people control their asthma:  

• Asthma Action Plan: Get a written asthma action plan in place with a clinician.
• Inhaler Technique: Understand how to use inhalers correctly, ideally with a spacer.
• Asthma Review: Schedule a review annually and after every asthma attack.
• Air Quality: Consider how air pollution (indoor and outdoor) might be affecting lung health.