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| Home > Living With Asthma > Asthma Prevention > More Than Medication |
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When you have asthma, managing it means taking your medications as directed by your healthcare professionals. But there is more to an effective asthma management plan.
Here's a quick look at the 4 components that make up an asthma management plan:
1) Assessment and monitoring
The first step to any effective asthma management plan is assessment of your condition. That, of course, starts with a visit to your healthcare professional who will take a history, perform a physical examination, and possibly perform a breathing test to see how well your lungs are working. If the diagnosis is asthma, it's important to do your part to manage it by regularly monitoring your symptoms.
People with asthma 12 years of age or older can take the Asthma Control Test™ to learn if their asthma is controlled as well as it could be. You should share these results with your healthcare professional to determine if your current treatment is keeping your asthma symptoms under adequate control.
There is also a version of this test specifically designed for children with asthma between the ages of 4 to 11 years. Click here to access the Childhood Asthma Control Test.
2) Medication
Depending on the severity of your asthma, your healthcare professional will prescribe a specific medication or combination of medications. In general, there are 2 types: long-term, or "preventative," medications (consisting of long-acting bronchodilators or anti-inflammatories), and quick-relief, or "rescue," medications (such as albuterol). If you have frequent asthma symptoms, you should use at least 1 medication of each type.
To find out more about treatment options, click here.
3) Avoid asthma triggers
It's also important to control your environment and attempt to eliminate or minimize exposure to asthma triggers.
4) Education
An understanding of asthma and how it affects your airways, as well as the correct use of drug delivery devices, is vital to the success of your management plan. Knowledge about airway inflammation and the difference in asthma medications is equally helpful. Don't forget to take the Asthma Control Test™ to learn about your level of asthma control. Always have an Asthma Action Plan in place in case of an emergency.
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