ASTHMA

When To Seek Medical Advice

There are three key circumstances that warrant talking to your doctor about asthma:

• If you think you have asthma. Wheezing, difficulty breathing, pain or tightening in your chest, or coughing without any other symptoms may all be signs of asthma. Wheezing, especially, is a frequent symptom of asthma in children. Yet about 20 percent of children with asthma never wheeze. Instead, they have recurrent, spasmodic coughs that are often worse at night. If you or your children have frequent coughs that last more than a few days or any other signs or symptoms of asthma, see your doctor.

• If you've received the diagnosis of asthma. If asthma has been diagnosed in you, talk to your doctor about ways to manage your condition. Working as a team, you and your doctor can develop a plan to help you control symptoms, prevent an attack or stop an attack in progress. Don't try to treat asthma yourself. Most asthma deaths result from a lack of proper treatment.

• If your medication isn't working. Sometimes your medications may not offer the relief you need. Be sure to contact your physician right away if a prescribed dosage of medication doesn't work for you. In some cases, you may not be using your metered-dose inhaler (MDI) correctly. Don't try to solve the problem by taking more medication though — Overusing inhalers or taking too much medication can be dangerous.