Controlling and Monitoring Asthma Symptoms

Hi. I’d like to introduce you to Brandon. Brandon is eight years old. Let me tell you a few things about Brandon. His favorite sport is soccer, his best friend is Joshua, he loves pizza, and he has asthma. Brandon tries not to let asthma get in the way of playing soccer. Instead he has learned how to control his symptoms. Let’s explore the steps that you and Brandon need to take to monitor your asthma symptoms.

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In the final rating, you need to rate your overall asthma control. Reflect on the week and how you felt. Be as objective as you can. Your score will help you take the appropriate action to control your symptoms.

Now that you have scored each question, you need to total your score. Brandon’s total score is 16. With a final score you are ready to track your progress.

Did you use your quick-relief medication this week? How often? If you are using your quick-relief medication too much, this may be a sign that your symptoms aren’t under control. Brandon used his quick-relief medication a couple times after trying to play soccer. His score is three.

How often did asthma symptoms wake you up in the middle of the night or a bit earlier than normal? Sometime, it is hard to remember what happens in the middle of the night. You might want to ask someone that lives with to help keep track. Brandon woke up in the middle of the night twice. His score is three.

Over the past week, do you remember being short of breath? Did you ever stop what you were doing to catch your breath? Brandon was short of breath at least twice. This is what stopped him from playing soccer with his friends. His score is four.

Think back over you week. Were you able to do everything that you wanted to do? Write the corresponding number in the score box. In our example, Brandon gives himself a score of three. There were a couple of times during the week that he didn’t feel up to playing soccer with his friends.

4

1

2

3

4

55

66

3

1

23

4

3

3

3

16

Asthma Control Test

Each week you need to evaluate your asthma status. This is the first step in deciding if you need to change anything in your asthma protocol to keep asthma symptoms under control. Click each number to learn more.

Controlling and Monitoring Asthma Symptoms

Now that you’ve walked through the process of using the asthma control test, tracking an asthma score, and consulting an asthma action plan, it is your turn to complete the process on your own. You are going to help Julie monitor her asthma symptoms. Julie is 25 years old and works as a human resource specialist. Over the past week, Julie hasn’t been feeling well. For the past five nights, she has come home and sat on the couch, skipping her trip to the gym. When she picks up her lunch, she feels short of breath. She has used her quick-relief inhaler everyday to help recover from shortness of breath. Julie has woken up in the middle of the night. She feels like her asthma is poorly controlled.

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Check Your Knowledge: Asthma Control Test

Using your best judgment, enter a score for each question and total her score. Click each the info button to review Julie’s condition.

Julie is 25 years old and works as a human resource specialist. Over the past week, Julie hasn’t been feeling well. For the past five nights, she has come home and sat on the couch, skipping her trip to the gym. When she picks up her lunch, she feels short of breath. She has used her quick-relief inhaler everyday to help recover from shortness of breath. On three separate nights, Julie has woken up in the middle of the night. She feels like her asthma is poorly controlled.

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