It is imperative to make and stick to a well-thought-out asthma management plan to regulate your condition effectively to control asthma symptoms. Asthma care puts the responsibility for treatment on both the person with asthma and the doctor.
When you work with a specialized medical practitioner, making an action management plan and following that plan to a T is paramount to reducing the impact of asthma.
Preventing asthma triggers is an excellent way to minimize the risk of severe attacks and chronic symptoms.
What Is An Asthma Management Plan?
A vital part of asthma management plans is formulating a documented course of action by the patient and their doctor. This action plan can help you handle asthma, recognize factors that aggravate it, and deal with issues as they occur.
Making an asthma management plan is imperative, as it includes a plan to effectively control asthma’s impact.
A well-formulated asthma management plan helps you to:
- Reduce absences from school
- Reduce visits to a general practice
- Reduce hospital admissions
- Improve lung function
- Minimize the use of reliever medication
How Does An Asthma Management Plan Work?
Asthma management plans help individuals take early action to minimize and prevent an asthma attack‘s severity. It might be based on peak expiratory flow measurements and/or symptoms and tailored to a person’s asthma pattern.
Also, it is crucial to review your asthma management plan frequently as the severity of the level of asthma or control might change over time.
What Should An Asthma Management Plan Include?
Different people need different kinds of strategies to keep the condition under control. However, all of them must include some of the same essential features, such as:
- It should be documented properly.
- It should be prescribed individually, instead of generally.
- It should contain all the necessary information to enable the patient and/or their caretaker to recognize flare-ups or exacerbations.
- It should have information regarding responsive actions to deal with those exacerbations.
Apart from this, asthma management plans must include all the essential details of a patient, such as their name, doctor’s contact details, etc. Also, it should consist of the contact details of the emergency contact or their caregiver.
Various plans utilize a traffic light system to assess the severity of exacerbations, which move from green (under control) to red for (emergency).
But whatever system you opt for, the response plan must also cover the following:
- Preventer/maintenance therapy. Frequencies and doses of regular medications
- Manage augmented severity. The right time to seek medical advice and begin oral corticosteroids
- Treat exacerbations. The ways to adjust treatment to cope with the particular symptoms and signs
- Danger signs. How and when to seek emergency medical help
General Information
Here is some general information that your asthma management plan should include.
- Medications to treat and control your asthma with the names of every medicine
- Factors that aggravate your asthma, also known as “asthma triggers”
- Peak flow measurements or symptoms to indicate worsening asthma
- Peak flow measurements or signs that indicate the necessity for urgent clinical attention
- Medicines to take per your symptoms, peak flow measurements, or signs
- Emergency contact numbers of your local hospital and healthcare provider
Medicines
Your asthma management plan also details all the instructions and medicines for what you need to do when you aren’t feeling well and how to treat asthma symptoms that worsen. It should have all the medicines’ names, their doses, and their dosage times. The frequency and quantity may change based on the zone (green, yellow, red) of your asthma.
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- Quick-relief medicines (rescue medicines). These medicines stop or relieve asthma symptoms once they start. You need to inhale them, and they work quickly to ease the muscles’ tightening around your airways. This can help you relax your muscles and open up your airways. It enables you to breathe easily. Also, you can use quick-relief medicines before exercising to prevent asthma symptoms.
Generally, there are two types of medicines.
- Long-term relief medicines (maintenance, anti-inflammatory, or controller medicines) help prevent asthma symptoms by reducing mucus production and controlling lung inflammation. These medications take time but allow for efficient asthma management for hours. You need to take these medicines regularly for them to work regardless of whether you have symptoms.
Emergency Care
The red area of your asthma management plan includes the steps necessary to implement them in an emergency. This part of your approach has emergency contact details of the doctor, rapid transportation, emergency department, and friends/family.
Imperial Center Family Medicine Can Help You With An Asthma Management Plan
You can keep your asthma triggers well-controlled when you have a proper and detailed asthma management plan. Moreover, you must immediately seek emergency treatment if your asthma attack weakens your ability to speak or walk or if your lips or extremities begin to turn blue. You can have several intensive medications and expert medical attention to administer treatment with an emergency team.
So, if you are suffering from asthma, Imperial Center Family Medicine can assist you to formulate a proper asthma management plan with necessary guidelines for timely treatment of your aggravating asthma symptoms. Get in touch with us today to create a well-suited asthma management plan.