Asthma Action Plan

Working With Your Asthma Action Plan

Talk to your doctor if you don't have an Asthma Action Plan or if you need to review or revise the one that you have.

Your Asthma Action Plan should be used, reviewed, updated regularly to reflect changes, and shared with others including school staff, coworkers, and family members. It is your guide to managing your asthma. It gives you direction on how to reduce contact with triggers, control and prevent symptoms, follow your treatment and medication plan, identify warning signs, and respond quickly to stop an asthma attack. Keep it in an easy-to-reach place where others can use it in an emergency. Make sure that your plan works for you!

• Follow steps outlined in your Asthma Action Plan.
  
  
• Let your doctor know how you are doing. Talk with your doctor when there are any changes in how you are feeling. Let your doctor know if you are being exposed to more asthma triggers or if you've had an increase in asthma attacks.
  
  
• Review and update your Asthma Action Plan regularly.
  
  
• Care for yourself and care for your asthma.

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Written by Karen Serrano, MD
Emergency Medicine resident at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Reviewed by Lisa V. Suffian, MD
Instructor of Clinical Pediatrics in the Division of Allergy and Pulmonary Medicine at Saint Louis Children's Hospital, Washington University School of Medicine
Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital, Saint Louis University
Board certified in Allergy and Immunology

Last updated June 2008