| Breathe Easy: Creating an Asthma Action Plan  "It's like breathing through a straw." That's how many individuals describe what asthma feels like. But for most people with asthma, it doesn't have to be that way. Asthma is a chronic lung disease that inflames and narrows the airways. Asthma causes repeated periods of wheezing (a whistling sound when you breathe), chest tightness, shortness of breath, and coughing. The coughing often occurs at night or early in the morning.
If you or a family member has asthma, you are not alone. In the United States, more than 22 million people are known to have asthma, and nearly 6 million are children. Asthma affects people of all ages, but it most often starts in childhood.
Watch this video to learn more about asthma. How is asthma diagnosed?
Your primary care doctor will diagnose asthma based on your medical history, a physical exam, and results from tests. The tests may include lung function tests, such as spirometry, and allergy testing to find out what might cause the allergic reactions. Your doctor also will figure out your level of asthma severity—whether it's intermittent, mild, moderate, or severe. Your level of severity will determine the treatment you will receive.
Learn more about how asthma is diagnosed. What can make asthma symptoms worse? A number of things can bring about or worsen asthma symptoms. Triggers may include: - Allergens found in dust, animal fur, cockroaches, mold, and pollens from trees, grasses, and flowers
- Irritants such as cigarette smoke, air pollution, chemicals or dust in the workplace, compounds in home décor products, and sprays (such as hairspray)
- Certain medicines such as aspirin or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and nonselective beta-blockers
- Sulfites in foods and drinks
- Viral upper respiratory infections such as colds
- Exercise (physical activity)
Asthma is different for each person. Some of the factors listed may not affect you. Other factors that do affect you may not be on the list. Talk to your doctor about the things that seem to make your asthma worse. Other health conditions—such as a runny nose, sinus infections, reflux disease, psychological stress, and sleep apnea—can make asthma more difficult to manage. These conditions need to be treated as a part of an overall asthma care plan.
Learn more about asthma symptoms. Asthma treatment and control Asthma is a long-term, or chronic, disease like diabetes or high blood pressure. Once you develop asthma, you are likely to have it for life. It cannot be cured but it can be controlled.
Good asthma control will: - Prevent chronic and troublesome symptoms such as coughing and shortness of breath
- Reduce your need for quick-relief medicines
- Help you maintain good lung function
- Let you maintain your normal activity levels and sleep through the night
- Prevent asthma attacks that could result in your going to the emergency room or being admitted to the hospital for treatment
You should actively partner with your doctor to manage your asthma or your child's asthma. Children aged 10 or older—and younger children who are able—also should take an active role in their asthma care. Creating an Asthma Action Plan An asthma action plan is a written, customized guide that you prepare with your doctor and other health care providers. For children, the school nurse may be involved. It is based on your treatment goals, as well as your medical history and test results. It will provide you with step-by-step guidance on how to manage your asthma every day, including: - What medicines you should take, how much of each you should take, and when you should take each one
- How to recognize when your asthma is getting worse
- If peak flow monitoring will be helpful, and, if so, how and when to use a peak flow meter to monitor your asthma
- How to make adjustments in your medicines based on your peak flow results
- How to monitor your asthma
- What your specific asthma triggers are and how to avoid them
- What to do if the symptoms of your asthma are getting worse
- How to recognize an emergency, what to do, and who to call
Having an asthma action plan puts YOU in control!
Get an Asthma Action Plan form. Resources - 'What is Asthma?' from the NHLBI Diseases and Conditions Index (DCI)
- Asthma Video from the NHLBI DCI
- 'So You Have Asthma' A 48 page, easy-to-read guide
- 'My Asthma Wallet Card'
- 'How Your Lungs Work' from the NHLBI DCI
- Listing of clinical trials on asthma
- Press release: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Initiates Thirteen New Projects to Advance Asthma Control
- Follow NHLBI on Twitter at @NIH_NHLBI.
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