“Asthma action plan: What it is, what it includes, and more - Medical News Today” plus 1 more

Asthma action plan: What it is, what it includes, and more - Medical News Today

Posted: 02 Nov 2018 12:00 AM PDT

Asthma is a chronic condition that affects the airways and makes breathing difficult. Putting an asthma action plan in place can be an effective way to manage this condition.

An individual can work with a doctor to create an asthma action plan that outlines the medications they need and explains how they work and when to use them. Asthma action plans can benefit children and adults.

If a person has an asthma attack, their asthma action plan helps them take the right medication. It may also tell them to seek medical attention, depending on their symptoms.

In addition to providing relief during an attack, these action plans allow people to monitor their asthma and learn the best ways to manage the condition. As a result, they may be better able to control their asthma symptoms, improving their quality of life.

Keep reading to learn more about how doctors construct asthma action plans and how people can use them to manage their condition.

An asthma action plan is a written description of what someone should do if their symptoms worsen or they have an asthma attack.

Asthma action plans contain three levels of severity: green, yellow, and red. They include details of the medication an individual should take and the actions they should follow at each level.

This essential document also helps a person determine what steps to take when their symptoms are worsening and lists what they should do in an emergency.

Individuals create an asthma action plan with a doctor. These plans aim to help people manage their asthma and prevent and control asthma attacks.

Every asthma action plan includes three levels to reflect different levels of symptom severity. The levels are:

Green: In this zone, the individual is doing well and has few to no symptoms.
Yellow: As someone's symptoms worsen, they enter the yellow zone.
Red: People in this zone require urgent or emergency medical attention.

Asthma action plans must include all the information necessary for the treatment of an asthma attack. The details that they may contain include:

individual asthma triggers
medications that the person should take on a daily basis, according to their symptoms, and in an emergency
symptoms that show that asthma is becoming more severe
signs that someone needs urgent medical attention
phone numbers for an emergency contact, healthcare professional, and local hospital

Peak flow rate

Doctors use a measurement called peak flow rate to differentiate green, yellow, and red levels. A simple peak flow test can determine peak flow rate by measuring the volume of air that a person can blow out of their lungs. Initially, a doctor or nurse will teach a person how to carry out the test. The individual can then test themself at home.

A doctor will initially use the test to confirm a person's personal best score, which is the highest peak flow number they have over 2–3 weeks. Doctors then use this number to determine the range of peak flow values for each of the three zones.

Knowing these ranges makes it easy for a person to perform the test at home and see what zone they fall into at any particular moment.

Learn more about how to use a peak flow meter.

An asthma action plan lays out what symptoms someone should look for and tells them when to take certain medications.

The plan should include information on medicine types, including how much the person should take and when they should do so. Each zone also lists the relevant symptoms and peak flow measurements.

Green

Someone is in the green zone if they have no symptoms. Treatment and management aim to keep people in the green zone.

Yellow

People enter the yellow zone if they experience coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, or difficulty breathing. If someone has these symptoms while performing regular daily activities or trying to sleep, they are in the yellow zone.

They should use medications for quick relief. At this point, they can self-manage their care. However, if these quick relief medications do not improve the symptoms, the person may enter the red zone.

Red

A person is in the red zone if the symptoms are so severe that they result in trouble walking or talking.

Although the individual can take further quick relief medications while in the red zone, they should seek emergency medical attention.

Learn more about severe asthma.

If a person's symptoms align with those that their action plan lists in the red zone, they should seek emergency care.

Their action plan should include phone numbers for their local emergency department, their doctor, and rapid transportation. It should also include their emergency contacts.

Common asthma symptoms indicating a problem include:

symptoms while trying to sleep
symptoms that occur with increased activity level, such as exercising, working, or playing
symptoms during waking hours, such as coughing, wheezing, or chest tightness

About 25 million people in the United States live with asthma, which equates to approximately 1 in 13 people.

Asthma is a chronic condition, which means that it affects people in the long term. There is currently no cure, but a range of medications and lifestyle practices can help people manage the condition and live a fulfilling life.

An asthma action plan reminds people to be aware of their symptoms and guides them to take the appropriate medication when necessary.

Sometimes, asthma symptoms can escalate to a dangerous level, which is why proper management is essential. People with asthma should take steps to educate themselves about the condition. Knowing and understanding their personal triggers can often help a person avoid asthma attacks.

It is also important to learn to recognize worsening symptoms and respond by taking a quick relief medication.

Learn more about different treatments for asthma.

Many people can successfully manage their asthma symptoms with an appropriate asthma action plan.

Asthma symptoms vary in severity, but people can maintain their health by controlling their symptoms and recognizing when they change or worsen. People should seek prompt treatment or medical advice when they move into the yellow or red zone of their action plan.

Asthma is more common in children than in adults. As anecdotal evidence suggests that children tend to downplay their asthma, an asthma action plan may be particularly useful for them.

Action plans are especially beneficial for school-aged children or those with multiple caregivers because they explain the child's asthma treatments. The plan will allow the responsible adult to manage an asthma attack safely and promptly.

Learn about the signs that a person may have asthma.

An action plan is a clear, written plan detailing what a person with asthma should in the event of an asthma attack. It lists all necessary medications and explains when to take them. It also includes emergency numbers and information on what symptoms to monitor.

The plan includes information that helps the person monitor the severity of their symptoms, self-manage asthma attacks, and determine when they should seek emergency care. The use of three zones — green, yellow, and red — with different symptoms and peak flow measurements makes it easy for an individual to know which stage of the plan they fall under at any time.

As asthma can change over time, an individual should revise their asthma action plan annually with a doctor.

It is vital to maintain control of asthma for a higher quality of life. An asthma action plan can help a person do that, regardless of their age.

Breathe Easier: Treatment Options for Asthmatics - Fort Morgan Times

Posted: 28 May 2021 06:17 PM PDT

While more than 25 million Americans have asthma, each person's asthma is different and can vary over a lifetime. This means each treatment plan should be monitored and tweaked over time too.

If you or your loved one has asthma, it's important to understand its causes/triggers and what treatments will help you manage your symptoms daily.

We spoke with Aaron Schmucker, a family nurse practitioner at Banner Health Clinic in Berthoud, CO, to understand the causes of asthma and what treatment options are available today.

What causes asthma?

Asthma is a chronic lung disease in which your airways become inflamed, narrowed or swollen making it difficult to breathe. For some people, exposure to things like the environment such as allergens can trigger asthma, while for others ongoing health problems can trigger asthma symptoms or make them worse.

"Asthma has many factors that contribute to it," Schmucker said. "A large percentage of patients have an allergic component to their asthma and that is why there are so many clinics that treat allergies and asthma together. There is also a familial component where asthma tends to run in families, and many other triggers or components that can cause asthma to get worse."

Mild, moderate and severe asthma: What do these mean?

After your doctor has confirmed your asthma diagnosis, they will "grade" its severity from mild to moderate or severe based upon how often you are having symptoms and how much these symptoms are affecting or limiting how you live your life.

"Severity of asthma, in terms of treatment is important because it determines which medications to use, the strength of those medications and timing of those medications," Schmucker said.

How is asthma treated?

Treating asthma is a stepped approach, known as stepwise. Upon diagnosis, your doctor will gradually increase (step up) or decrease (step down) your medication, until you consistently are sleeping well at night, active during the day and are avoiding urgent care or emergency room visits.

"Treating asthma is a stepped approach, starting with short acting medications as needed, and stepping up to everyday medications and sometimes subcutaneous injections with severe asthmatics," Schmucker said.

What treatment options are available?

Treatment options for asthmatics can vary, but generally they fall within these three different components of asthma:

Inflammation
Bronchoconstriction
Other (such as an allergic component)

"Medications like budesonide and other inhaled corticosteroids treat inflammation of the airways," Schmucker said. "Medications like albuterol and other bronchodilators like it treat bronchoconstriction or airway constriction. Other medications like Xolair are injections and are used to treat IgE or the allergic component that some asthmatics have."

The right medication can depend on a number of things, but most people with asthma need two kinds of medications: quick relief (or rescue) and long-term control. Immunotherapy, such as allergy shots, can also be helpful if your asthma is triggered or worsened by allergies.

Quick relief: These medications control the symptoms of an asthma attack. Rescue medications like albuterol work quickly within 2 minutes and last up to 4 hours.
Long-term control: These medications are taken every day, even when you feel well. They generally work for 12 to 24 hours.
Immunotherapy: Injecting allergens under the skin can reduce asthma symptoms.

"Some patients only have mild exercise-induced asthma where they only use an albuterol inhaler before exercise," Schmucker said. "While others are on a high dose steroid and bronchodilator inhalers because they have symptoms that are all day every day."

Are there any warning signs you should look out for?

While there is no cure for asthma, it's important to remember that you can keep it under control. If you're taking your medications but are still experiencing symptoms or frequent asthma attacks, check in with your doctor to adjust your treatment plan.

Schmucker listed some of the warning signs to look out for:

Using your rescue inhaler greater than 2 times per week
Waking up more than once a night per month with a cough, wheezing and or shortness of breath.
Experiencing a cough, wheezing or shortness of breath with exercise.

"Some people make the mistake of thinking there breathing is not "bad enough" to use their inhaler or seek help for their breathing," Schmucker said. "Tightness in the chest, wheezing and to a certain extent coughing, is not normal with any activity."

Why is monitoring your asthma important?

"Asthma is important to monitor because over the course of someone's lifetime it will wax and wane in severity, requiring more or less medication," Schmucker said. "There are great treatments out there to treat asthma and no asthmatic should settle for a substandard quality of life because of their illness."

Takeaway

Although asthma is a common disease, it does require a proper medical diagnosis and treatment plan. Don't wait to get help.

If you are experiencing symptoms of wheezing, coughing or shortness of breath or your asthma treatments are no longer working, schedule an appointment with a primary care provider today by calling 970-842-6262.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome