PACNJ Six Steps for Asthma Control

Six key steps on your pathway to asthma control:

1. See your health care provider to learn how to control your asthma and get a written asthma treatment plan.

2. Your written asthma treatment plan tells you what medicine to take, how much to take, and when to take it.

3. There are two kinds of asthma medicine. One is a quick-relief medicine you use when your asthma is getting worse. The other is a long-term control medicine that must be taken every day to prevent asthma problems.

4. Triggers are things that make asthma worse like dust, pollen, mold, and cigarette smoke. Know what triggers your asthma and how to stay away from them.

5. Early warning signs your asthma is getting worse are coughing, tightness in your chest, mild wheezing or coughing at night. Know what to do when this happens and act quickly.

6. Your asthma can change. Make a follow-up appointment with your health care provider to be sure the treatment is working and your asthma is under control.

*Important! If you need your quick-relief medicine more than two times a week, except before exercise, call your health care provider.

For more information on asthma, go to www.pacnj.org

Adapted from National Institutes of Health, US Department of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Asthma Control Initiative Web Page, Parents, Families and Care Givers, http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/prof/lung/asthma/naci/audiences/patients-families.htm