Controlling Your Severe Asthma

Welcome

Your asthma can be challenging to manage. While it can’t be cured, it can be controlled. You should be able to feel good, be active all day and sleep well at night. No one should accept less.

Using this tool helps you talk with your allergist to decide which asthma treatment will work best for you.

It’s easy:

1. Read about the different treatment options.
2. Respond to a few simple statements based on your lifestyle and preferences.
3. Print out your answers and bring them to your next appointment.

About Severe Asthma

If you have asthma, you are not alone. More than 20 million adults in the United States have asthma, meaning the tubes in their lungs become inflamed and close when exposed to certain triggers -- like inhaling pollen or catching a cold or other respiratory infection. Asthma may make it hard to breathe, which can be frightening. You may have a cough that just won’t go away, or you may be unable to fully participate in activities. If that is happening often, you may have severe, uncontrolled asthma. Factors that can worsen asthma include indoor or outdoor allergens, cigarette smoke, air pollution, respiratory viruses, and weather changes.

While there is no cure, there are many therapies that are effective. It is very important that you use your medications as directed so you can work, participate in activities, and get a good night’s sleep. However, if you use your asthma treatment as directed and still experience one or more of the following, it may be time to consider more advanced therapy:

• Need asthma quick relief medications (short-acting beta agonists such as albuterol) two or more times a week
• Wake at night coughing or wheezing
• Frequently cough and/or wheeze during the day
• Find that your symptoms interfere with daily activities
• Have recently used oral steroid pills
• Have recently visited the emergency room or been hospitalized

Your allergist will help you find an advanced treatment that will work best for you.

Treatments for Severe Asthma

There are many treatment options for adults whose asthma is severe and uncontrolled. All involve adding extra treatments to the inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and other controllers (such as long-acting beta agonists [LABA] and leukotriene receptor antagonists [LTRA]) you may already use).

This chart explains more about these treatments.

Your Turn

The next step is to talk about these treatments with your allergist. To help you figure out what might work best for you, answer the following statements, choosing Yes or No.