Living with asthma: what to know

Asthma causes sensitive, inflamed airways that can narrow at times. Symptoms may include wheezing, cough, chest tightness or shortness of breath, and they can vary between quiet periods and flare-ups. Allergic rhinitis, house dust mite allergy, smoke, exercise, cold air and respiratory infections may affect symptoms. A symptom diary can help you and your clinician notice patterns without assuming every cough is asthma.

Take preventer medicine exactly as prescribed, even when you feel well, and keep your reliever available if your clinician has prescribed one. Ask a clinician or pharmacist to watch your inhaler technique; small handling errors can reduce the medicine reaching your lungs. Keep an up-to-date written action plan, review it after a flare-up, and reduce exposure to triggers you can identify. Attend planned reviews so treatment can be adjusted to your symptoms and daily activities.

Seek urgent help if breathing becomes severely difficult, speaking is hard, lips look blue or grey, you feel faint or confused, or your reliever is not helping as your action plan expects. Contact a clinician promptly when night symptoms, wheezing or chest tightness are becoming more frequent, exercise is limited, or you need reliever medicine more often than planned. A nebuliser treatment may be used in an urgent setting, but it does not replace an asthma review.

Ask: How will we know my asthma is controlled? Which symptoms should trigger a review? Can you check my inhaler technique and action plan? Could allergies or another condition be contributing to my cough? What should I do if a flare-up starts while I am away from home?