How will my healthcare professional help me look after my asthma?

Once you have been diagnosed with asthma, you should expect to have an asthma review with your healthcare professional at least once a year. This may be done remotely (online, telephone or video) or face to face.

“Having my regular asthma review is what has made all the difference to my ability to manage my asthma.” Mark

It’s OK to Ask

When you go to your healthcare appointments, we encourage you to ask four key questions that will help you and your healthcare professionals make decisions together. This will make sure that the care is right for you.

What are the benefits of my treatment?
What are the risks of my treatment?
What alternative treatments can I try?
What if I do nothing?

Learn more about “It’s OK to ask”

Learn more about realistic medicine

Recommendation based on the research evidence

At your asthma reviews, your healthcare professional will check and record the following.

Time off work or school. They will ask if you have missed any work or school because of your asthma.
Reliever inhaler use. They will check how often you use your reliever inhaler (the one you use when you have symptoms) and look at your prescription records.
Steroid tablets (a type of medicine that reduces inflammation). They will count how many times you have to take these for your asthma.
Hospital visits. They will ask if you have had to go to hospital or an emergency department because of your asthma.

If your asthma is not well controlled, your healthcare professional will adjust your treatment.

Recommendation based on the research evidence

Your healthcare professional might ask you to fill in a short questionnaire that includes questions like, ‘During the last 4 weeks, how much of the time has your asthma kept you from getting as much done as usual at work, school or home?’ This helps them work out how well your asthma is controlled.

Recommendation based on the research evidence

Measuring how fast you can blow air out of your lungs (peak expiratory flow) is not usually needed unless it is part of your personal asthma action plan. This written action plan explains what to do when your asthma is under control, when it gets worse, and during an emergency.

Recommendation based on the research evidence

Your healthcare professional might do breath tests during your regular check-ups and before and after changing your asthma treatment. This is done to measure the amount of nitric oxide in your lungs, which can indicate inflammation in your lungs.

If you feel your asthma is not well controlled or you have had a flare-up, you can ask for an asthma review at any time. You don’t have to wait for your regular review.