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If you have difficult to manage asthma which does not respond to standard asthma treatment you should be referred to a specialist respiratory team for further tests and assessment.
They will advise you on treatment which may help to relieve your symptoms and help you keep control of your asthma.
You and your asthma specialists should work as equal partners. You can take the lead by telling them how asthma is affecting you and your life. Get to know your asthma team.
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Make sure you have a personal asthma action plan. You can get this from your GP, practice nurse or respiratory team.
You must understand what to do if you get early warning of an asthma attack or in an emergency.
You should have an annual asthma review with your GP or respiratory nurse.
Try to keep a healthy weight, get regular exercise and try to avoid known triggers if you can.
See an example of a Teenage asthma plan (NHS Scotland 2012)
Asthma can be dangerous but if it is treated and managed properly you can significantly reduce the chance of an asthma attack in the majority of people with asthma.
The aim of your treatment is to keep you as free from symptoms and flare-ups as possible. Take your treatment as prescribed and use your inhalers correctly.
If you think your inhalers are becoming less effective or your symptoms are worse than usual you should ask for a review with your GP or asthma specialist nurse. Pharmacists can also check that you are talking your inhaler correctly. It is possible that your type of inhaler can be changed or the dose changed to give better symptom relief.
Know the difference between your preventer and your reliever inhalers.
You should have a flu vaccination every year. See the section Vaccinations for adults with asthma for more information.
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The first step in managing your asthma is to know how and when it affects you – your symptoms. For more information please see Causes of asthma.
You may have “asthma triggers” such as allergies to chemicals, dust mites or animal fur. For more information please see Asthma triggers.
Some asthma triggers are unpredictable such as cold weather, emotional induced asthma or even laughing.
Not everyone who has asthma has a wheeze.
Some people with asthma have most of their symptoms at night. This can affect how you can manage tasks during the day.
Keeping a note or diary of your symptoms and peak flow readings is a good way to keep a check on any changes in your asthma. For more information please see the section on peak flow.
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Self management is about growing in confidence and gaining new skills, to help you manage your condition. This will be done with support from your health care professionals, carers and family. This does not mean that you have to cope alone or that the health care professionals are abandoning you. Self management is about you finding what works best for you in terms of coping and managing everyday living activities when living with a long term condition. The support you need will always be in place but you will be the person managing it. It is about you being in control of your condition and not it taking control of you!
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From teenage years to your twenties your life changes significantly. You may have exams, leave school, start work, be unable to find work, start new relationships, become pregnant, travel or move away from home. All of these situations are different some stressful others exciting but all are made easier if your asthma is being well controlled.
You don’t want to miss out but you may be embarrassed to take your inhalers when you are with your friends or when you meet new people. If you forget to take your inhalers you could be putting yourself at risk of an asthma attack. You don’t want to be “fussed over” or attract unwanted attention to your asthma.
This can also be a time when you start taking more risks which could affect your asthma control. Drinking alcohol, smoking, taking drugs, an unhealthy diet, not getting enough sleep.
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If you have had asthma since childhood you may have seen many different healthcare experts, doctors and your GP.
If you have been diagnosed with asthma as a young adult you may have many questions about what asthma is and how asthma will affect you.
There are some important facts and tips you need to know so you can manage your asthma effectively and safely yourself. You will see self-management tips on this website when you see this icon.
Nebulised medicines are often used for emergency treatment of asthma. They deliver doses of drugs deep in to the lungs quickly. A range of medicines can be given in this way.
Once the asthma emergency is over, most people do not need to have a nebuliser at home. However some people with difficult to control asthma may be prescribed a nebuliser for use at home.
All regular medications to use with your nebuliser are available on prescription from your GP as long as the nebuliser has been prescribed for you.
Make sure that you reorder in time to ensure that you do not run out of your medication but
do not order too many medications at one time. Medications have a use by date (expiry date) and should not be used after that time.
If you find you are using your nebuliser more frequently than prescribed by your doctor, you should make an appointment to discuss why this is happening and why your nebulised medicine is not giving you the same relief of symptoms as it should. Your doctor maybe able to change the medication or dose to improve your symptoms or offer alternatives such as a breathing control assessment.
If you have bought a nebuliser without having an assessment by your doctor you are not guaranteed to get a prescription from your GP for the medicine to go in it.
Skin prick test showing reactions
You will be asked to stop using your antihistamine to allow for more accurate response.
Avoid using perfumes, soaps, body wash or cream on area which will be tested most likely forearms.
Your skin will be marked with the various allergens. A drop of each allergen is placed at the marked areas.
There will also be a control substance used to make sure the test has worked, a positive (histamine) causing a reaction in everyone and a negative (saline) which should cause no reaction.
Lancets are used which are a very small aid to give a slight scratch to the surface of the skin to allow some of the solution under the skin.
The skin around the solutions may become itchy don’t scratch. It may also become red and swollen this is inflammation. There may be a raised bump called a wheal which is very like a nettle sting.
Once the test is over and measurement of any wheal has been taken, the area is washed dried and some steroid cream is applied to help calm the inflammation.
A dressing is put on to allow the cream to soak into the skin and not be rubbed off. You can remove the dressing after 15-30 minutes.
