Asthma and study

Asthma at university

You don't want to make yourself ill or have an asthma attack in your first week of Uni - so just follow a few simple steps to avoid this happening! Make sure you read our checklist for surviving your first year at uni which has been written by Alice who is now in her third year at Cardiff uni.

Before you get there

• Speak to your doctor or asthma nurse before leaving home about any concerns you are having with your asthma. You can ask for a review of your asthma medicine and you can also ask the asthma nurse to check your inhaler technique.
• To help manage your asthma, we recommend you have a written personal asthma action plan. Your doctor or asthma nurse, in discussion with you, should complete this plan. It will contain the information you need to keep control of your asthma, including details about your asthma medicines, how to tell when your symptoms are getting worse and what you should do about it, and emergency information on what to do if you have an asthma attack.
• Make sure you bring enough asthma medicine with you! You'll need enough reliever and preventer medicine to tide you over until you get registered with a new doctor.

Asthma friendly accommodation

• If you are going to university, say that you have asthma on your application form for accommodation.
• You should be able to sort out suitable accommodation through the university accommodation services, but sometimes this is not the case and you will have to find accommodation yourself.
• Some universities offer non-carpeted non-smoking facilities. You want to be a priority for these. The Student Welfare & Accommodation Officer can help with a variety of other issues and concerns both prior to, and after your arrival.

When you get there

Registering with your local GP
It is important to register with a new GP as soon as possible after you arrive. Some universities have their own medical services and asthma clinics and may have an asthma nurse, so it is worth asking at the health centre what services are available for you. NHS Choices can help you with finding a GP locally. 

While you're at uni, should you wish to go back home and see your family doctor or asthma nurse you will need to complete an NHS Temporary Services form. These can be obtained from your old GP surgery. All your previous medical history before to moving to university will be still with your family GP. 

Get as much support from your uni as you can
Most universities offer support to students who have a medical condition which can affect their study and life at university. If you have a medical condition such as asthma, you may not consider yourself to be disabled. However, you may still require support or special arrangements in higher education.

Attending university can be demanding and there may be times when you feel you are finding it difficult to cope. If your asthma is poorly controlled or you are having symptoms, you may find that you are not sleeping properly and this may affect your concentration and your workload, and may impact greatly on your student experience. You can contact your tutor and explain the difficulties you are having, particularly if you are not meeting your deadlines. You can get support from the university welfare support or student support services. Your university may also provide a counselling service which can be really useful particularly when you feel you are not coping well and are feeling isolated.

Things to remember when you return home
On return home from university for holidays or long weekends, it is worth bearing in mind that if there are pets you can potentially become re-sensitised to the cat or dog in your home and this may trigger asthma symptoms.

Taking days off college or uni
Living with asthma means that when your asthma gets bad you might miss days in education. This can be frustrating, especially when other people don't always understand how hard asthma can be.

Tips:

• Before you start college or uni, contact them straight away. Explain in advance the situation and kind of support you will need.
• Speak to the welfare officer at college or uni. See what support is available for you.
• Do you have a medical centre onsite at the uni? Speak to them.

Stress of exams on asthma
Feelings of stress or anxiety can be a trigger for your asthma. Study can be stressful especially around exam time. If you find it brings on your asthma speak to your doctor/asthma nurse and the welfare officer at your uni to see what they can do to support you. You can find out lots more about how to manage stress and asthma here.