Effective Asthma Treatment Is the Key to Asthma Control

By Pat Bass, About.com Guide to Asthma

You achieve and maintain asthma control through a combination of prevention and quick action when needed. Start by avoiding exposure to your triggers and taking your daily preventive asthma medications. When control slips, respond quickly to any asthma emergencies that arise despite your best efforts. Knowing what to do and when to do it makes all the difference in staying healthy and Living a life without limits, even though you have asthma.

1. Step 1 - Avoid Your Triggers & Ward Off Symptoms
2. Step 2 - Take Your Daily Preventive Medicine
3. Step 3 - Know What to Do When Control Slips
4. Build a Strong Treatment Team
5. Other Treatment Options to Consider

Step 1 - Avoid Your Triggers & Ward Off Symptoms

The first step in asthma control is to prevent asthma symptoms and attacks from occurring. You do that by avoiding the things that tend to set off your asthma symptoms. Identifying your triggers can help you devise strategies to avoid them, or at least minimize your exposure to them.

• Getting to Know Your Triggers
• Allergens - The Most Common Triggers
• Irritants Make Things Worse

• Take Steps to Avoid Your Triggers
• Get Your Annual Flu Shot
• Should You Get a Pneumonia Shot?

Step 2 - Take Your Daily Preventive Medicine

Asthma medications are essential tools for achieving the ultimate goal of being in control of your asthma. But it takes more than just a prescription. You also need to know how and when to use your these drugs if you're going to get the most benefit from them.

• Inhaled Steroids - Mainstay of Treatment
• Leukotriene Modifiers - Another Option
• Combination Meds - When Steroids Aren't Enough
• Immunomodulators - Hope for Severe Asthma

• Get to Know Your Asthma Medication
• Understanding the Terminology
• Fact or Fiction: Asthma Medicine Side Effects & Risks
• All About Metered Dose Inhalers

Step 3 - Know What to Do When Control Slips

Even if you have severe persistent asthma, you should be able to keep things under control most of the time. The key is recognizing right away when asthma control is slipping and then taking the right actions to stop asthma in its tracks.

• Get a Handle on What Control Means
• Build a Strong Asthma Action Plan
• Learn to Recognize an Impending Asthma Attack

• Detect Subtle Changes With Your Peak Flow Meter
• Keep Your Rescue Inhaler Close By
• Accept That Treatment May Need to Be Stepped Up

Build a Strong Treatment Team

You can't do it all alone. Effective asthma control will require you to work closely with your doctor and other healthcare professionals to set up the right treatment plan for your unique situation, symptoms, triggers, and lifestyle. So, it's important to take charge by becoming the proactive leader of your treatment team. Become an empowered patient so that you can live the life you want without asthma getting in the way.

• Keep the Lines of Communication Open
• When to Consult With a Specialist
• Types of Specialists Who Treat Asthma
• How to Choose a Doctor You'll Trust
• Check Out a Doctor First

Other Treatment Options to Consider

Trigger avoidance and preventive medication are your best bets to achieving consistent asthma control, in most cases. But there are other options and you might want to consider them, either as an alternative or in addition to what you're already doing.

• Allergy Shots to Reduce Sensitivities
• "No Needles" Immunotherapy
• Alternative Treatment Approaches