1035

7MC

InsideTAKE ACTION to control your asthma

Hea

lthy

En

dea

vors

SM

1 In

tou

chP.

O. B

ox 2

291

Du

rham

, NC

277

02-2

291

Manage your health. Earn rewards.

Have you talked with your provider about your

asthma lately?P

RS

RT

ST

DU

.S. P

ost

age

PAID

Blu

e C

ross

Blu

e S

hie

ld

of

NC

FIN

D A

PR

OV

IDE

R O

R P

HA

RM

AC

Y

IN Y

OU

R N

ET

WO

RK

ww

w.f

epb

lue.

org

/pro

vid

er

Scan

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e to

get

sta

rted

!

Get treatment for asthma to prevent or lessen asthma symptoms. Print an Asthma Action Plan (see inside) from www.lung.org to discuss asthma medications with your doctor.

Earn $50 by completing your Blue Health Assessment (BHA) today.

® M

ark

of th

e Bl

ue C

ross

Blu

e Sh

ield

Ass

ocia

tion.

SM1 M

ark

of B

lue

Cros

s an

d Bl

ue S

hiel

d of

Nor

th C

arol

ina

Deve

lope

d by

Sta

yWel

l

Inside

Asthm

a is a chronic condition that affects your lung

s. You may feel

tightness in the chest, shortness of b

reath, wheezing and coug

h-ing. You can take m

edications to help keep it und

er control*.O

nce you’ve been diagnosed with asthm

a, your provider will

likely give you two types of treatm

ent:• Lon

g-term

contro

l med

icines. These help reduce your airw

ay inflam

mation and prevent asthm

a symptom

s. Your doctor will

prescribe inhaled corticosteroids. This type of medicine m

akes inflam

mation and sw

elling go down. M

ost people who take

these medicines daily find relief from

their symptom

s.

Take action

to co

ntro

l you

r asthm

a

*National H

eart, Lung, and Blood Institute, N

ational Institutes of Health

YO

U C

AN

WO

RK

WITH

A

PHA

RM

AC

IST an

d d

iscuss

your m

edicatio

ns. C

all 919-765-4703. To receive educational m

aterials and

participate in the Healthy

EndeavorsS

M1 program

, call 1-888-392-3506.

Do you have asthm

a or do you have allerg

ies? C

heck with yo

ur do

ctor to

confirm

the diag

nosis

for co

nditio

n-related

prescrip

tions. This w

ill help

the pharm

acy eliminate unnecessary

asthma p

rescriptio

n remind

ers.

• Qu

ick-relief med

icines. These are also know

n as “rescue” m

edications. This type of medicine relieves

asthma sym

ptoms w

hen they flare up. Most patients

receive an inhaled medicine, w

hich acts quickly to open up their airw

ays so they can breathe.

Asth

ma A

ction

Plan

Em

ergency C

on

tact N

ame ______________________________________________________________________________________ P

ho

ne (_____________) _____________-__________________

Health

care Provid

er N

ame _______________________________________________________________________________________ P

ho

ne (_____________) _____________-__________________

Nam

e _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ DO

B ______ /______ /____________

Severity Classifi

cation

In

termitten

t M

ild P

ersistent

Mo

derate P

ersistent

Severe Persisten

t

Asth

ma Triggers (list) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Peak F

low

Meter P

erson

al Best ____________

Green

Zo

ne: D

oin

g Well

Symp

tom

s: Breath

ing is go

od

– N

o co

ugh

or w

heeze –

Can

wo

rk and

play –

Sleeps w

ell at nigh

t

Peak F

low

Meter ________ (m

ore th

an 8

0%

of p

erson

al best)

Co

ntro

l Med

icine(s)

Med

icine

Ho

w m

uch

to take

Wh

en an

d h

ow

often

to take it

__________________________________________

__________________________________ __________________________________

__________________________________________

__________________________________ __________________________________

Physical A

ctivity U

se albuterol/levalbuterol _____ puffs, 15

minutes before activity

w

ith all activity w

hen you feel you need it

Red

Zo

ne: G

et Help

No

w!

Symp

tom

s: Lots o

f pro

blem

s breath

ing –

Can

no

t wo

rk or p

lay – G

etting w

orse in

stead o

f better –

Med

icine is n

ot h

elpin

g

Peak F

low

Meter ________ (less th

an 5

0%

of p

erson

al best)

Take Qu

ick-relief Med

icine N

OW

! A

lbu

terol/levalb

utero

l _____ pu

ffs, ___________________________________________ (ho

w freq

uen

tly)

Call 9

11

imm

ediately if th

e follo

win

g dan

ger signs are p

resent •

Trou

ble w

alking/talkin

g du

e to sh

ortn

ess of b

reath

• Lip

s or fi

ngern

ails are blu

e

• Still in

the red

zon

e after 15

min

utes

Yello

w Z

on

e: Cau

tion

Symp

tom

s: Som

e pro

blem

s breath

ing –

Co

ugh

, wh

eeze, or ch

est tight –

Pro

blem

s wo

rking o

r playin

g – W

ake at nigh

t

Peak F

low

Meter ________ to

________ (betw

een 5

0%

and

79

% o

f perso

nal b

est)

Qu

ick-relief Med

icine(s)

Alb

utero

l/levalbu

terol _____ p

uffs, every 4

ho

urs as n

eeded

Co

ntro

l Med

icine(s)

Co

ntin

ue G

reen Z

on

e med

icines

A

dd

____________________________________________ C

han

ge to ______________________________________________

Yo

u sh

ou

ld feel b

etter with

in 2

0–

60

min

utes o

f the q

uick-relief treatm

ent. If yo

u are gettin

g wo

rse or are in

the Y

ellow

Zo

ne fo

r

mo

re than

24

ho

urs, T

HE

N fo

llow

the in

structio

ns in

the R

ED

ZO

NE

and

call the d

octo

r right aw

ay!

1-8

00

-LUN

GU

SA | LU

NG

.org

Date ______ /______ /____________