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? Do you experience asthma symptoms more than twice a week? Do you use asthma rescue medication more than twice a week? 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 shouldnt need to rely on your rescue medicine as much. Its important to remember, though, that because they arent rescue medicines, controller medicines should not be used to treat sudden symptoms. https://videos.whiteblox.com/gnb/secure/player.aspx?sid=47303