What should you know about mild intermittent asthma with acute exacerbation?

An exacerbation is a noticeable increase in airway narrowing and inflammation. Cough, wheezing, chest tightness and breathlessness may intensify over a short time. A trigger can be an infection, smoke, an allergen, cold air or exercise, but the trigger is not always obvious. Having mild symptoms between episodes does not predict how severe a flare will become. The response to your reliever and your ability to speak and move are useful signs when deciding how urgently to act.

Sit upright, stay as calm as possible and use your prescribed reliever exactly as your written action plan says. Use a spacer when one has been prescribed and do not exceed the plan. Move away from smoke or a suspected trigger. If symptoms are not settling, contact urgent medical services; do not drive yourself when severely breathless. Clinicians may give inhaled treatment, steroids or supervised nebuliser treatment depending on examination and response. Arrange a follow-up after recovery to review the trigger, technique and ongoing treatment.

Call emergency services for severe breathlessness, blue or grey lips, inability to speak in full sentences, collapse, confusion or exhaustion. Get urgent assessment when the reliever is not working as directed, symptoms return quickly, or walking across a room is difficult. A flare after a cold or allergy still deserves attention if breathing is worsening.

Ask what counts as a flare for you, how many reliever doses your action plan allows, and which emergency signs require a call. Ask whether you need a preventer, a spacer, written instructions or a review of allergy and infection triggers.