Heidenheim, Germany - Asthmatic children should always carry an emergency plan containing instructions on what to do if they have an asthma attack, the Heidenheim-based German Pneumologists Association (BdP) informed.

Such a plan, the group said, would enable the child to receive proper help even if he or she was unable to speak. The child's teachers should also have a copy, the BdP added.

Ideally, the plan would list the child's known asthma triggers as well as which medicines should be taken when and how, and who, at what telephone number, should be notified in case of emergency.

The BdP warned that asthmatic children's respiratory problems could worsen after the summer holidays because of renewed close contact with other schoolchildren, and also because of increased time indoors, which raised the risk of viral and bacterial infections.