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My Asthma Action Plan
When my asthma is
When my asthma is
When my asthma is
How to recognise
WELL CoNTRoLLED
GETTING WoRSE
LIFE-THREATENING ASTHMA
• No regular wheeze, or cough or chest • At the first sign of worsening asthma • Need reliever puffer every 3 hours or Dial 000 for an ambulance and/or 112
from a mobile phone if you have any of
the following danger signs:
• Able to take part in normal physical • Using reliever puffer more than 3 times a • Waking each night and most mornings with • Need reliever medication less than three times a week (except if it is used before and follow the Asthma First Aid Plan below while waiting for ambulance to arrive.
A serious asthma attack is also
indicated by:• symptoms getting worse quickly What should I do?
What should I do?
What should I do?
• severe shortness of breath or difficulty Continue my usual treatment as follows:
Increase my treatment as follows:
Start oral prednisolone (or other steroid)
and increase my treatment as follows:
• you are feeling frightened or panicked Preventer
Asthma First Aid Plan
1 Sit upright and stay calm.
2
Reliever
puffer (one puff at a time) via a spacer device. Just use the puffer on its own if you don’t have a spacer. Take 4 breaths 3 Wait 4 minutes. If there is no
Combination Medication
AMBULANCE IMMEDIA
TEL (DIAL 000
Y (DIAL 000
See my doctor to talk about my asthma
getting worse
See my doctor for advice
See your doctor immediately after a
serious asthma attack.
Always carry my reliever puffer
Name: . Date: . Best Peak Flow*: . Next Doctor’s Appointment: .
* Not recommended for children under 12 years My Asthma Action Plan
This written Asthma Action Plan will help you to manage your asthma.
Your Asthma Action Plan should be displayed in a place where it can be seen by you and others who need to know.
You may want to photocopy it.
What happens in asthma?
How your preventer medicine helps
My medications are
Asthma inflames the airways. During an asthma attack, the air Your preventer medicine reduces the redness and swelling in your airways and dries up passages (airways) of the lungs become inflamed, swollen and the mucus. Preventers take time to work and need to be taken every day, even when you narrowed. Thick mucus may be produced and breathing becomes difficult. This leads to coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath.
Preventer
Preventer medications are: Qvar (beclomethasone), Flixotide (fluticasone), Intal Forte Asthma Triggers
CFC-Free (sodium cromoglycate), Pulmicort (budesonide), Singulair (montelukast) and Tilade CFC-Free (nedocromil).
Common asthma triggers are house dust mite, pollens, animal fur, moulds, tobacco smoke, and cold air. It is unusual but some foods How your reliever medicine helps
Reliever
Your reliever medicine relaxes the muscles around the airways, making the airways wider Exercise is a common asthma trigger but can be well managed with and breathing easier. It works quickly to relieve asthma symptoms, so it is essential for pre-exercise medication and warm-up activities.
Symptom Controller
Reliever medications are: Airomir, Asmol, Epaq and Ventolin (all brands of salbutamol) How your symptom controller helps
Combination Medication
Symptom controllers can help people who still get symptoms even when they take regular preventer medicines. If you need a symptom controller, it should be taken with your preventer medication. It should not be taken instead of a preventer.
other Comments
Like your reliever medicine, your symptom controller helps widen the airways. But while Before exercise I need to warm up properly and take the your reliever works for around 4-6 hours, symptom controllers work for up to 12 hours at a time. However, they are not good for quick relief of symptoms so they should not be used Symptom controllers are: Foradile and Oxis (both brands of eformoterol), and Serevent There are combination medications that combine a symptom controller and a preventer in
Useful telephone numbers
Combination medications are: Seretide (fluticasone and salmeterol) and Symbicort • Asthma Foundation 1800 645 130 for information and advice Your GP can advise you on the availability under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme of

Source: http://crlnsw.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Asthma-Action-Plan.pdf