What should you know about moderate asthma?

The airways can become swollen, sensitive and tighter, making it harder for air to move. You may notice wheezing, cough, chest tightness or breathlessness, sometimes after exercise, an infection, smoke, dust or an allergy. Asthma symptoms can vary from day to day; a quieter day does not necessarily mean the underlying inflammation has gone.

Your clinician may assess symptoms, listening to your chest and checking breathing tests where suitable. Allergic rhinitis and house dust mite allergy can aggravate airway symptoms, while a persistent cough may need a separate assessment.

Use your preventer exactly as prescribed, even when you feel well, and keep your reliever available. Ask a clinician or pharmacist to watch your inhaler technique; errors can leave medicine in the mouth instead of the lungs. A written asthma action plan can explain what to do when symptoms increase, how to monitor your response and when to seek help.

Reduce known triggers where practical, avoid tobacco smoke, and arrange reviews if night waking, reliever use or activity limits are increasing. A nebuliser treatment may be used by a healthcare team during more severe breathing difficulty, but it is not a substitute for an agreed asthma plan.

Seek urgent medical help if breathing is rapidly worsening, speaking is difficult, the reliever is not helping as expected, or you feel faint, confused or unusually exhausted. Do not drive yourself if breathing is severe. Sit upright, follow your action plan and use prescribed rescue medicine while arranging emergency care.

Ask which inhaler is the preventer, how often the reliever can be used, how you will judge control, and whether breathing tests or an allergy review would help. Clarify what changes require same-day care.