Asthma: Taking charge of your asthma
What do you need to take charge of your asthma?
There are a few tools you can use to keep track of your asthma and know how well your treatment is working. Keeping track of your asthma lets you act quickly to stop an attack before it becomes an emergency. Your doctor and asthma educator can help you make the plans and learn the skills you need.
An asthma action plan tells you what controller medicine to take every day and when to take it. Controller medicine is usually an inhaled corticosteroid. Taking your controller medicine every day helps reduce the swelling of your airways and prevent attacks. The plan also tells you how to know when your asthma is not in control, how to change your treatment to prevent an attack, and what to do if you have an attack.
Your action plan may also include:
- A list of your asthma triggers—the things that make your asthma worse. Avoiding triggers can help you keep your asthma under control.
- Treatment goals. Having personal goals can help motivate you to follow your plan. For example, goals might include being symptom-free at night or being able to play sports.
- An asthma diary. In the diary, you write down your peak flow, what symptoms you are having and what caused them, and any medicines you used. See a sample asthma diary
(What is a PDF document?).
You and your doctor will work together to create your asthma action plan. An action plan has zones that are based on your peak flow or symptoms. See a sample asthma action plan
Your doctor can teach you the skills you need to use your asthma action plan. These include:
- How to use a peak flow meter
to check your peak flow (also called peak expiratory flow or PEF). Peak flow is a measure of how open your airways are. A drop in peak flow can show that the airways have narrowed even before you have symptoms. Then you can start treatment right away to help prevent an attack.
- How to use a metered-dose inhaler or dry powder inhaler. Using a metered-dose inhaler with a spacer
- What symptoms to watch for. Symptoms such as wheezing, coughing, or tiring quickly during exercise can mean that your asthma is not well controlled. Having these symptoms may mean that you need to see your doctor and adjust your treatment.
- How to identify, avoid, and reduce triggers.
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| Author: | Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS | Last Updated: April 21, 2009 |
| Medical Review: | E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine Harold S. Nelson, MD - Allergy and Immunology | |
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