Asthma Action Plan
One of the best ways to manage your asthma symptoms is to develop an Asthma Action Plan. By working with your doctor, you can develop an action plan that works best for you.
A good asthma action plan will help you to:
-
Know your triggers and ways to stay away from them. Triggers are things that irritate the airways and cause them to swell. Triggers also cause the muscles in your airways to tighten and constrict making it hard to breathe. Common triggers include: pollens and molds, house dust mites, animal dander, cockroach allergen, tobacco smoke, and wood smoke.
-
Know your warning signs that an asthma episode may be approaching.
-
Use your peak flow meter -- a simple device that tells you how well you are breathing.
-
Use your inhaler and medications properly.
-
Make exercise a part of your daily routine.
The action plan form looks like a traffic light -- with green, yellow and red zones. Each zone guides what medicines you need to take, and when and how often you should take them.
Here is a copy of an Asthma Action Plan that you can print out and show to your doctor. (Requires Adobe® Acrobat® Reader? to view.) Use this as a tool to help control your asthma symptoms so that you can enjoy an active lifestyle.