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Management
Managing Asthma
Managing AsthmaThere is no cure for asthma, so the key is to control it by avoiding things that can cause asthma symptoms andmake breathing more difficult, and finding what medications are right for you. It’s all laid out in what’s calledan asthma management or action plan, which your healthcare team can help create with you after yourdiagnosis.“An asthma management plan really breaks it down nice and easy for patients with asthma based ontheir symptoms or how they’re feeling. They’ll be able to look at the plan and take their medications asthey should to help with the symptoms that they’re having.”Sarah Brundidge knows what she’s talking about. Besides being a respiratory therapist, she’s been living withasthma herself since high school.“My chest just felt tight and I felt like I couldn’t quite get enough air. It was a struggle.”Sarah lives a healthy, active life with asthma by following her asthma management plan closely. And sheadvises her patients to do the same. A typical asthma management plan should include what medications totake when to take them, and how much to take. It’s divided into three parts; Green, yellow and red.“Green means good. You’re not having any symptoms; you’re feeling great. You don’t have any activitylimitations. Yellow you start to have early warning signs of maybe your asthma is going to start to flareup. Then, the red zone. That’s where you’re really struggling to breathe. It can potentially become adangerous situation if not handled quickly.”Management or action plans include steps you can take in your everyday life to stay in the green zone andavoid the red zone. There are also things you should avoid triggers that can lead to a flare-up of your asthma.“I go into homes of severe asthmatics. We assess their home for environmental triggers and things thatmight trigger their asthma worse.”“For instance, if tobacco smoke triggers off your asthma, that’d be something to avoid in yourenvironment. If your cat is triggering off your asthma, there are things you can do to truly minimizeyour exposure to that particular trigger and then hopefully improve your asthma control.”It’s important to share your asthma management plan with your family and close friends. This helps ensurethat everyone knows what steps to take if your asthma flares up.“It’s a very easy way for the families to know what the medications are. For us to explain when to usethem. We can’t fit all of that on a prescription and we don’t expect you to read all those labels everyday when you’re trying to take those medications.”Page 1 ofSpeaking of medication, management plans usually include two types. One is quick relief.“Quick relief asthma medications are used when the patients are having symptoms when they’rearound their triggers.”“They don’t make the asthma itself better. They just make you feel better.”The second type of asthma medication is long-term control medicine.“Those are medications that should be done all the time no matter what and those really can’t bestopped or changed unless you talk to you doctor. Ahead of time.”Quick relief and long term control medications are different for each person. Following your management planwill help you, like Sarah, control your asthma and live a healthy, active life.“There are no reasons that people with asthma can’t do anything they want to. They can travel, theycan do sports, they can go to work. It’s just a matter of making sure they’re on the right medicationregimen, making sure they’re doing it all the time and understanding how to use the medications.”Page 2 ofThis program is for informational purposes only. Publisher disclaims all guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness,or suitability of this video for medical decision making. For all health related issues please contact your healthcare provider.© The Wellness Network
Watch this to learn how to measure a child's peak flow when they have asthma.
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Follow this checklist to help you monitor your asthma with a peak flow meter.
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