More than 60% of people don’t know they have asthma or don’t have a correct care plan, meaning it may be holding them back in life. Without correct diagnosis and management, asthma can “flare up” making it more difficult to breathe. This can develop over hours and days with a sudden flare up known as an asthma attack. To be correctly diagnosed, a doctor will examine a patient and recommend Lung Function Testing, the only way to be accurately diagnosed. Respiratory Care WA offers free, personalised Lung Function Testing at our satellite hubs.
Information
What is Asthma?
Asthma is a chronic condition that affects people of all ages. It is caused by inflammation in the airways and can cause wheezing, coughing, tightness in the chest and difficulty breathing. Symptoms are unique to every person but can occur at night, early in the morning, or just during or after activity.
Manage Your Asthma
Asthma doesn’t have to hold you back. With correct diagnosis and management, you can live your best life with limited symptoms or flare-ups. Below are our tips to manage your asthma:
Triggers
Everyone’s asthma is different meaning everyone has different triggers. A trigger is anything that can lead to asthma symptoms and could be catching a cold, breathing in cold air, experiencing strong emotions, physical activity, certain foods/drinks or something else entirely.
Your Asthma Action Plan should detail your triggers. Respiratory Care WA’s respiratory team can help you understand what your triggers mean to your everyday life. If you notice any changes to your symptoms or triggers, speak to your doctor about your plan.
Up to date Asthma Action Plan
An Asthma Action Plan is written by a health professional to help you stay in control of your asthma. Your Asthma Action Plan includes your medication(s), how to tell if your asthma is getting worse, what to do if your symptoms are getting worse and what to do if you have an asthma flare up.
Asthma changes over time so your plan should be reviewed annually. Our respiratory educators will use your Asthma Action Plan to understand your current management approach and how we can help.
Medication(s)
Asthma medications help to maintain good asthma management.
Preventer medications make the airways less sensitive, reduce redness and swelling and help to dry up mucus. Preventers should be taken daily to reduce symptoms and asthma flare-ups.
Relievers are fast-acting medications that give quick relief of asthma symptoms by relaxing the muscle around the outside of the airway to open it up. Relievers will start to provide relief within minutes and last for up to four hours. Everyone with asthma should have a reliever medicine so they can use it whenever they have asthma symptoms. Our respiratory educators can help you understand what medication(s) you’ve taken and recommend speaking to your GP if your medication(s) are not working efficiently.
Device Technique
Did you know that up to 90% of Australians are using their inhaler incorrectly? There are many different types of medication inhalers, so it’s important to understand how your inhaler works and what medicines it contains.
Spacers are always recommended to be used with inhalers as they help deliver the right dose of medicine into your lungs. Respiratory Care WA’s respiratory educators can help to check your device technique.You can also talk to your GP or pharmacist about using different devices.
Asthma First Aid
An asthma flare up can become an emergency and require immediate medical attention. Learn more about the signs of an Asthma Emergency here <link>.
Call Triple-Zero (000) immediately if you are struggling to breathe, can’t talk in a full sentence, your symptoms have worsened quickly and/ or your reliever has little effect.
Respiratory Care WA can help with asthma diagnosis and management so you can live your best life.
Asthma Hub
Asthma can be difficult to diagnose and optimise in children, and sometimes requires several appointments bridging different health professionals across hospital and community services. Families need to take time off school and work, deal with waiting lists, and sometimes travel to and from hospital clinics.
