Asthma Action Plan: Fill & Download for Free

A person who has asthma should have a written Asthma Action Plan - it’s a document that escalates intervention with escalating symptoms. Example for my son - he has cough variant asthma which means he’ll start to cough when he’s having an attack. Our action plan doesn’t vary much from others I’ve seen online or that friends have for themselves or their kids.At some point in the middle of a cold or a lot of coughing, I’ll listen to his lungs and hear the wheezing. I can hear it with my ear if I put my head on his back, but I’ve obtained a stethoscope to make it easier - wheezing, clicks, groans, or other noises other than wind are all concerning. Another physical symptom is called stridor - the bottom of the neck below the adams apple will pull in with each breath. The chest might also be pulling in, retracting desperately with each breath.At this point we either do his inhaler or a nebulizer with the same medication in it. This should relieve his cough substantially (though it might not stop it - if it’s not stopped, I listen to his lungs to ensure the medicine cleared it significantly).If he’s not better, we repeat the inhaler/nebulizer 20 minutes later. Repeat above and if needed, repeat the inhaler/nebulizer for a total of three doses in one hour. At this point, I give him an oral steroid to kick—start helping his lungs.In 20 minutes if he’s not better, it’s 911 time. There are different medications EMTs and hospitals use to help stop an asthma attack.This is our action plan - I’ve called 911 a number of times. In each case, my son’s oxygen level was never below 85% (which is low, but not terrible). But he was obviously in distress, unable to get a clear breath.I think my son’s reaction to an asthma attack is much more mild than others. I had a friend who would do a second dose of medication within five minutes if it wasn’t helping - and it was less than five more before she was calling 911 as she continued her medication. This is why the action plan - individualized for the person with asthma and their own reactions to an attack - is key.

With asthma, at what point and how often should I take my Ventolin inhaler?Working with your physician you develop an asthma action plan. You then follow the plan.

A good treatment of asthma is relatively complex and it must be individualized in contrary to most therapies of other diseases. That makes the asthma treatment hard to handle for many patients.A written asthma action plan is therefore helpful for all asthma patients and for some patients even absolutely necessary.You find the form for the asthma action plan and a very good explanation how to use it under this link:What's an Asthma Action Plan?Print this form and fill it as far as you can. Then let it check by your asthma doc and let him/her fill the fields which you could not fill alone.Your doc must do that and he will do that for sure, because he/she knows that it is helpful in the therapy of the asthma.