How to Best Manage Your Asthma

Life can be a little more challenging for the nearly 26 million people in the United States who have asthma. Still, it doesn't mean that you need to live as a prisoner of this chronic condition.

If you want to live in a world where you’re not at the mercy of your asthma, you’ve come to the right place. Here at Temecula Medical Group, Dr. Richard Rawson, Ryan D Rowan, PA-C, and Armanda L Alvarez, FNP-C, specialize in individualized and direct primary care that helps our patients successfully manage chronic conditions like asthma.

In the following, we explore key steps you should take when you have asthma so that you can breathe easier, knowing you’re the one who’s in control.

Get the right team in your corner

Your most important step is ensuring you have the right medical support for your asthma. There is no cure for this chronic disease, which means management is paramount.

Our practice offers direct primary care or concierge services, which is ideal for chronic conditions like asthma. Having medical expertise on hand when needed is important, as asthma attacks can come and go.

With our help, we set you up with long-term therapies, such as immunotherapy, and short-term spot medications that can help you weather an acute asthma attack. We also help you come up with lifestyle adjustments that you can make to minimize asthma attacks, which we review below.

Preventing asthma attacks

While we can certainly do our part to set you up on long-term asthma therapies and supply you with what you need during an attack, preventing one in the first place is best.

The most important component of an asthma attack prevention plan is knowing your triggers. Each person with asthma typically has a few things that can trigger an attack, and the most common include:

• Certain allergies (mold, pollen, animal dander, dust mites, etc.)
• Exercise
• Weather
• Cigarette smoke
• Cleaning products
• Having a cold or flu

Even emotions or stress can trigger an asthma attack.

If you take the time to note the conditions under which you’re more likely to experience an attack, you can devise a plan to avoid those triggers.

Outside of trigger management, it’s important to understand when you’re in danger of an attack. In most cases, we rely on an asthma action plan, which uses a peak flow meter to see how well you’re breathing. Your results fall into one of three zones: green, yellow, or red (click here for a good explanation of the zones).

With an asthma action plan in place, which we help you set up, you have peace of mind knowing that you have a good framework for managing your asthma and avoiding a dangerous acute attack.

If you’d like to learn more about taking charge of your asthma, please contact our Temecula, California, office to schedule an appointment.