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For parents of children with asthma, the thought of sending a child to camp

raises numerous questions and conjures up difficult images. How will my child

remember to take his medications during the day? What if my child has an

asthma attack? How will my child keep up, since he can’t run or swim like other

kids can? These real fears and concerns about daily management of asthma

prevent many parents from considering summer camp for their children.

Learning to Manage Asthma While Having Fun

Fortunately, specialty asthma camps give childrenwith asthma the chance to enjoy the fun of summercamp with the security of around-the-clock medicalsupervision. The medical staff typically includes an aller-gist or pulmonologist, one or more nurses, and respira-tory-care practitioners. Kids not only take part in recre-ational activities—such as swimming, hiking, and artsand crafts—they also learn about asthma and how tomanage it by taking part in asthma education sessions.The structure of asthma camps varies: some are

overnight camps and some are day camps, and thelength may vary from a few days to a week or more. Theone requirement for all the camps is that children needto be on daily-prescribed medications for their asthma.

The children attending asthma camp are closely mon-itored and well taken care of. Typically, kids get theirmedications on a regular basis throughout the day, oftenat meal times. Their peak flow scores are also checkedduring the day. At overnight camps, a nurse or respirato-ry therapist sleeps in each cabin, which is particularly

by Susan Berg

Give Your Child a Gift to Remember:

Asthma Camp

reassuring to parents as so many kids experience a wors-ening of asthma during the nighttime hours. Finally,each child has a file, and careful records are kept oneach child regarding doses of medication, peak flowscores, and symptoms.

The increased prevalence of asthma and the coin-ciding demand for safe, asthma-friendly camp envi-ronments has led to the growth of 150 asthma campsin 44 states, which accommodate more than 15,000campers each summer. A complete list appears onwww.asthmacamps.org, the site of the Consortium onChildren’s Asthma Camps. This group pulls togethersponsoring organizations to set standards for the asth-ma camps, such as the nurse-to-camper ratio andappropriate medications to include in the camp for-mulary.

Have Fun While LearningBeyond providing a fun-filled week for the campers,

every asthma camp has three main goals, according toPenny Gottier Fena, executive director of theConsortium:

1. to provide high-quality medical care for campers, 2. to educate campers about their asthma, and3. to help children manage their asthma independently. While children are away from home—for the first

time in many cases, Fena points out—they also growand mature.

“Knowing that they’re not alone with their asthma isvery empowering for the kids,” says Fena. “Now a wholecamp [of children] has asthma, and they share commonissues with the other kids.” For example, they do notfeel ashamed taking their medications out in the openbecause everyone is doing the same thing. “They don’thave to feel they need to run into the bathroom to taketheir medication,” says Fena.

Gain Asthma ControlEvery day at asthma camp children spend time learn-

ing about asthma through fun interactive activities.Education classes teach how to properly use medica-tions, how to use a peak-flow meter, the anatomy andphysiology of asthma, and relaxation techniques. “Onechild learned to take his inhaler before exercise [to openthe airways],” says Fena. “When he met his mom at thebus, he said, ‘Mom, I can run again.’ That was anincredible moment when we saw just how valuable asth-ma camp can be.”

Deciding on Asthma CampGretchen Moen, certified pediatric nurse practitioner

(CPNP), of Minneapolis, remembers feeling nervousabout sending her son, Patrick, to camp. Because hisasthma was not under control, he had frequent visits tothe emergency room, and he often missed school. Butthe camp’s close medical supervision gave her the confi-dence that Patrick would be safe. It turned out to be apositive experience: Patrick not only learned how to rec-ognize and control his symptoms, but also, for the firsttime, he was not singled out from other kids.

“I was absolutely amazed to see Patrick running andswimming like everyone else, who had the same orworse [asthma] problems than he did,” says Moen,whose training as a CPNP led her to serve as a campnurse for many years. “If they were at home, the kidswould probably be hiding their asthma or whiningabout it, but at asthma camp, everyone has the sameissues. [They can] just being normal kids.”

One of the most valuable lessons Patrick learned overhis eight summers at asthma camp was that he couldpush himself to perform physically at a higher level byhaving his asthma under control. “I used to think that Iwouldn’t be able to breathe as well if I ran faster or

22 | A S T H M A M A G A Z I N E M a r c h / A p r i l 2 0 0 5

The increased prevalence of

asthma and the coinciding

demand for safe, asthma-

friendly camp environments

has led to the growth of 150

asthma camps in 44 states,

which accommodate more

than 15,000 campers each

summer.

played harder and that I wouldn’t be able to keep upwith my friends, but then, by doing it and being okay, Irealized that I could,” says Patrick, now 18 and a stu-dent at University of Minnesota. Now that he’s older, hedecided to be a counselor this summer at the camp thattaught him so much through the years. “I think itwould be nice to be a role model for younger kids now.”

As for his mother, Moen is now the director of CampSuperkids, the largest and oldest asthma camp in thecountry, and she spends time helping parents feel com-fortable about sending their kids to camp.

“The number-one fear among parents is that theirchild is going to get sick at camp and that we’re notgoing to know how to take care of their child,” she says.“What they don’t realize is that their children are goingto get their medications on a regular basis and that thecamp is actually going to help them.”

Feedback for ParentsClearly, children come away from asthma camp with

a wealth of new knowledge—about their disease andhow to control it, about supporting other kids withasthma, and about becoming independent. Parents havean opportunity to learn eye-opening lessons fromcampers, too.

As part of a research study titled Asthma Roadways:A Family Asthma Education Project, campers wereinterviewed about what they wish their parents knewabout them. Project manager Joe Reid, LMFT, PhD, abehavioral specialist at Camp Superkids in Minnesota,captured these telling stories on a video, shedding lighton how asthma affects the interpersonal relationshipsbetween parents and children.

A recurring theme among these campers was thatparents are overprotective of children with asthma. Thekids said they feel that they can take care of themselves

with only some help remembering to take their medica-tions. Some of the kids wish their parents would letthem play sports and not hover over them as if theycan’t do it. Among the children in the project, there wasa sense of anger toward their parents if the parents sawtheir kids as being different from other kids.

“These kids are intelligent, social, and tired of beingstigmatized for having asthma,” says Reid. “At asthmacamp, kids are allowed to do things they should bedoing without assistance. One 12-year-old boy said thiswas the first time he was able to take a shower withouthaving someone bang on the door four or five times tosee if he was okay. [We teach them that] they can doeverything, but just need to be aware of their healthneeds.”

Benefits to Last a LifetimeChildren at asthma camp are taught that once they

commit to following their individually prescribed asth-ma plan, there are no restrictions on activities inside oroutside of camp. These are valuable lessons that last alifetime. Parents comment that they get back a totallydifferent child than the one they sent to camp.

There is another benefit, too. Since asthma campshave shown that kids have fewer emergency room visitsbecause of what they learn at camp, some health insur-ance companies are even providing subsidies or coveringthe entire cost of camp.

Consider asthma camp this summer—it may be agift your child will remember forever.

Susan Berg is a freelance writer in Sharon, Massachusetts,who writes about health care and consumer issues.

Reprint requests: Elsevier, Inc., 11830 Westline Industrial Dr., St.Louis, MO 63146-3318; phone 314-453-4350doi: 10.1016/j.asthmamag.2005.02.007

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A Sample of Games and Activities, Which may Differ According to the Camp

• Anatomy Charades, in which kids silently act out asthma-related words, such as diaphragm, inhaler,and spacer.

• Bronchial Binoculars, in which children explore how their lungs look before and during an asthmaepisode by using cardboard tubes, rubber bands, and cotton.

• Make Your Own Mucus, in which campers create goop that simulates the texture, movement, andeffects of mucus buildup.

• Medication Twister.

• Medication Scavenger Hunt.

• Trigger Pictionary, in which children draw various triggers and others have to guess what they are.

Worry dolls and “feeling” collages, crafts that allow children to express their feelings about asthma.