Press Release
For Immediate Release
Contact: Tom Capezzuto
( 973) 972-7273
E-mail: capezzta@umdnj.edu
At UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School
UMDNJ Asthma Specialist Says Non Air-Conditioned
Classrooms
In Inner-City Schools May Exacerbate Conditions of Asthmatics
Giants DT Martin Chase to Speak at Newark Parent Asthma Conference
on May 27
The absence of air conditioning in aging inner-city public schools
is aggravating the asthma conditions of some children who are
often out sick from complications with their conditions, says
an asthma expert at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of
New Jersey (UMDNJ).
"Children who are asthmatics often have allergies that are aggravated
by the pollen counts on any given day, particularly in the fall
and spring, and that could trigger a severe asthma attack," said
Dr. Leonard Bielory, director of the Asthma and Allergy Research
Center at the UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School in Newark. "Other
factors, including the presence of lead dust, cockroaches and
other particles associated with aging, non-air-conditioned buildings
can also trigger life-threatening attacks on any given day. "The
air quality, or lack of it in inner cities, is largely responsible
for the incidences of severe asthma in many children."
Martin Chase, a veteran defensive tackle with the New York Giants
and an asthmatic, will share his experiences with parents and
school personnel at the 5th Annual Newark Parent Asthma
Conference on May 27 at the UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, 185
South Orange Ave., Newark, from 4 to 9 p.m. Other asthma experts,
including Dr. Arthur Torre, will address the audience on issues
related asthma treatment and preventing attacks.
Most inner-city schools in New Jersey are not equipped with air-conditioned
classrooms. About 40 new school buildings being constructed in
Newark during the next decade will have air conditioning, according
to Maryam Bey, co-founder of the conference and the mother of
an asthma sufferer.
"It has been suggested that small air condition units be installed
in the windows of classrooms to quell the chance of asthmatic
children experiencing such an attack until the new schools are
built," said Dr. Bielory.
"We are working closely with teachers and other school personnel
to instruct them on how to administer medications and use inhalers
when a child does have an attack," he added.
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