Controlling Your Asthma
Asthma control is about more than just treating symptoms. It’s about managing
your asthma so you have few or no symptoms in the first place.
When you have asthma, you always have inflammation or swelling
in the airways of your lungs. You may not feel this inflammation, but your
lungs do. Uncontrolled inflammation (swelling) makes your airways more
sensitive to asthma triggers like pollen, dust, and smoke. Exposure to these
triggers can cause constriction (tightening) of the muscles around your
airways, leading to symptoms like shortness of breath, wheezing, tightness of
the chest, and coughing.
Is your asthma under control?
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Do you experience asthma symptoms more than twice a week?
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Do you use asthma rescue medication more than twice a week?
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Do your asthma symptoms limit your activities?
If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, you may not be in control of your
asthma and it is important that you talk to your doctor to determine if an
asthma-controller medicine, like SYMBICORT, is right for you.
When your asthma is under control, you can do more of the things you like to do
with fewer interruptions due to your asthma. You should have fewer asthma symptoms
throughout the day and night. And you shouldn’t need to rely on your rescue
medicine as much. It’s important to remember, though, that because they aren’t
rescue medicines, controller medicines should not be used to treat
sudden symptoms.