Managing Asthma
About Asthma Management
What happens to you when your asthma is not under control? A whistling sound that you make when you breathe? A tight grip around your chest? Most patients with asthma have one or more of these common asthma symptoms:
- Wheezing. A whistling sound that's usually heard when you breathe out.
- Coughing. A cough or hack that may not go away and often occurs or is worse at night.
- Chest tightness. Feels like a rope being tightened around your chest.
Shortness of breath. Feels like you're trying to breathe through a straw—or worse, like you can't catch your breath at all. Breathing out is especially tough.
The bottom line on asthma is this: Even if you don't notice it, it may always be with you. Your airways are inflamed whether you have symptoms or not. That's why it's so important to treat asthma as your M.D. prescribes—because there is increasing evidence that, if left untreated, asthma can cause a long-term loss of lung function.
Information and Tools to Help Manage Asthma
- Protect Your Lungs by Managing Asthma (Getting Total Control)
- Prevent and Recognize Asthma Attacks
- How to Use Your Inhaler
- Your Medicine Matters
- The Importance of Not Smoking (Breathe Free and Become Smoke Free)
- Smoking Quit Tips
