Back to school means planning ahead if your child has asthma. All students should have an asthma action plan filed with their school. While asthma is the most common chronic condition in children, it can also be deadly. In this month's Ask the Pediatrician -- what parents and schools need to know.

The chronic condition can come on quickly.

Moriah Levins says, "It feels like you can't breathe and your body just wants to shut down and just want to fall to the ground without thinking about anything."

Dr. Clancy McNally says the key is to get the condition under control -- often with medicine.

Whether a child uses an inhaler or something else, an action plan is needed to spell out how to handle asthma. It's broken down into three sections: what to do on a daily basis; what to do when a child has mild symptoms or a cold and what to do when the asthma is moderate or severe. Action plans are filed with the school and should be revised on a regular basis.

Dr. McNally says, "Children's symptoms change. Their triggers change. They're in new environments where they're around different types of viruses and things so it's important to come in and visit with a physician on bi-yearly or yearly basis based on severity level and keep those action plans updated."

Sometimes it's not just asthma that's a concern. Asthma and allergies can go hand-in-hand. If there are concerns about a severe reaction to food, or pets, or a bee sting then an EpiPen is also something that needs to be in the asthma action plan.

Reina Terbovich has a plan that allows her mom, Rachel, to relax a bit when her daughter is at school.

Rachel Terbovich says, "She does have an inhaler but it's an emergency inhaler. It's not an inhaler she uses every day so when she does gym or she's out for recess and they see she ain't breathing right she goes to the nurse and they have it right there."