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| Home > More About Asthma > Talking to Your Healthcare Professional |
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To help you get ready for your next visit to your healthcare professional, here are some easy-to-follow steps.
Step 1: Take the Asthma Control Test™ (12 years and older)
Prior to visiting your healthcare provider, find out if your asthma is being controlled as well as it could be by taking the Asthma Control Test™. Sharing results of this test with your healthcare provider may help in determining your level of asthma control and if your current asthma treatment plan may need adjusting.
Step 2: Make an "asthma only" appointment.
If it's hard to find time to talk about asthma during a regular check-up, schedule an "asthma only" appointment with your healthcare professional.
Step 3: Be prepared.
Before your appointment, write down questions so you don't forget to ask them. Keep a daily symptom and medication journal and bring it with you.
Click here for more information about an Asthma Journal.
Step 4: Put aside a block of time for question writing.
Don't rush or wait until 5 minutes before your appointment to write down questions. You'll get better information if you take the time to write good questions. It might help to think about all your asthma attacks and how your condition has changed since your last appointment.
Discuss the following with your healthcare professional:
- Your Asthma Action Plan. Talk about how it's working and if it needs to be updated. You may consider starting one if you don't have one already.
- Your medications. Make sure you know what your medicines are, how often you should take them, how to use them properly, and what results to expect.
- Your symptoms. Talk about how often you have them and what triggers them. Make sure you know the early warning signs of an attack and what to do if one occurs.
- Your environment. Ask what you can do to decrease or, when possible, eliminate asthma triggers in your home, at work, and other places where you spend a lot of time.
- The results of your Asthma Control Test. This can help your healthcare professional determine your asthma treatment needs.
- Don't stop there. Be sure to ask any additional questions you have. You've set aside this time to focus on your asthma—make the most of it.
Knowledge is power! Your pharmacist, asthma nurse educator, respiratory therapist, and other healthcare professionals can also help you learn more about asthma medications and how to manage your asthma more effectively.
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