Asthma Management

Today there is increasing evidence that airway inflammation needs to be treated. There's also proof that if asthma is improperly treated, it may get worse over time.

So it's crucial that you stay one step ahead of your condition with effective asthma management. That could mean using a daily preventative medication such as an inhaled corticosteroid, a long-acting bronchodilator, or a combination product, if that’s what your doctor has recommended. This kind of treatment helps prevent symptoms.

When you have asthma, it is very important to prevent asthma symptoms, and there are a number of things you can do to accomplish this goal.

Select a topic below to find out more.

TREATMENT REMINDER TIPS

You may want to ignore asthma if you aren’t having symptoms, but the underlying airway inflammation is always present. Many people forget or stop taking their preventative medication when they don’t have asthma symptoms for a while. By not treating it or treating it incorrectly, you may run the risk of making your asthma worse.

The five tips below may help you remember to take your preventative medication as prescribed.

If you have coffee every morning, keep your medication inside or next to your favorite coffee mug.
If you have a cell phone, set its alarm for twice a day—once in the morning and once in the evening—to remind you to take your medication.
Arrange with a friend, who is also on daily medication, to call each other with a daily reminder.
If you use a computer every day, program a start-up reminder or a daily e-mail, or sign up with a free e-mail reminder service.
Each time you refill your prescription, make a note to refill it on your calendar one week before the medicine is due to run out. Or check whether your brand of medicine offers refill reminders on its Web site.

ASTHMA AT WORK

If your asthma seems better when you are away from work—perhaps during weekends or holidays—and worsens when you go back, you should talk with your doctor.

PREVENTING ASTHMA SYMPTOMS AT WORK

Ideally, substances that cause asthma should be replaced with other safer ones. Together with your employer, consider the following:

Moving you to a different job or location, which will limit exposure to agents that are suspected of provoking symptoms
Wearing masks and protective clothing
Fitting extractor fans

Protecting the air you breathe by sealing off any equipment that produces hazardous substances
Contacting your occupational health department

Some common asthma triggers you might encounter at work include:

Animals and insects
Flour
Grain
Wood dust
Some chemicals

Soldering fumes
Hairdressing products
Stainless steel welding
Reactive dyes

Also, central heating and air conditioning with dirty filters may spread allergens. These allergens and cigarette smoke may worsen, but not necessarily cause, asthma symptoms.

ASTHMA AND TRAVEL

Preparation is essential to managing your asthma. Don’t let a vacation or business trip be ruined by worsening asthma symptoms. Here are some tips for planning trips if you or someone you care about has asthma.

Investigate your destination. Find out about allergy and asthma triggers you might face while away. Your travel agent may be able to help, or investigate your destination online.
Fill prescriptions. Make sure you bring enough medication to last through your whole trip. Consider taking extra medication.
Don't pack all of your medication in one suitcase. Keep at least one week's worth of medication handy in a bag you carry all the time, just in case your luggage gets lost.
Bring a short asthma history. Bring a list of all your medications, a summary of your medical history, and your insurance cards. Ask your doctor to recommend a colleague in your destination city, just in case.
Carry prescriptions for additional medication. If you're traveling within the US, many pharmacists will fill an emergency prescription even though your doctor is from another state. Some national pharmacy chains will have your prescription on file in their computer network.
Make sure you have a universal adapter. If you bring along a nebulizer that requires power, make sure you have an adapter for your car or for outlets in different countries. If it is battery powered, make sure the battery is charged.

patient video Shellee On Moving From A Rescue Inhaler To A Daily Controller

It got…to the point where I’d use it about 3 or 4 times in a week just because I seemed to not be able to manage my asthma symptoms on my own.