Helping you to breathe easier

Did you know having and following an asthma action plan could prevent you from presenting at hospital?

A recent report commissioned by St.LukesHealth highlighted that in Tasmania, asthma is now among the top five reasons for potentially preventable hospitalisations in the 25 to 34 age group.

Statistics from the Australian Government Productivity Commission 2018 report on government services, shows that only 18 per cent of Tasmanians diagnosed with asthma between the ages of 25 and 44 had a written asthma plan in 2014-2015. This was higher for children zero to 14 years with 47.7 per cent having an action plan in the 2014-15 year.

What is asthma?
More than 2.5 million Australians have been diagnosed with asthma. This equates to one in 10 adults and one in nine children. Regardless of your age, anyone can have asthma.

Asthma and allergies are closely linked. Indoor and outdoor pollution, including moulds, gases, chemicals, particles and cigarette smoke can increase a person’s risk of developing the illness. But symptoms can also be trigged by colds and flu.

Symptoms include:

• Wheezing
• Shortness of breath
• A feeling of tightness in the chest
• Coughing

What causes asthma symptoms?

Asthma causes three main changes to the airways inside the lungs and all these can happen together.

1. A thin layer of muscle within the wall of the airway can contract to make it tighter and narrower. Reliever medications work to relax these muscles in the airway.
2. The inside walls of the airways can become swollen leaving less space inside. Preventer medicines work to reduce the inflammation that cases the swelling.
3. Mucus can block the inside of the airways. Preventer medications also reduce mucus.

What is an asthma plan?

An asthma action plan helps a person with asthma, or their carer, to recognise worsening asthma and what to do in response.

It is a written document that is based on symptoms. 

The process for developing this action plan is done in consultation with your doctor. Once written, the plan assists a person with asthma or their carer take early action to prevent or reduce the severity of an attack.

Once this is completed, the asthma action plan is given to the person with asthma. Parents should give a copy of their child’s asthma action plan to their child’s school, pre-school or childcare facility.

What should the plan include?

All asthma plans should:

• Be individually prescribed by your GP.
• Be in written format.
• Contain information that allows the person with asthma or their carer to recognise flare-ups.
• Contain information on what action to take when the person with asthma has a flare-up.
• Basic contact information for the person with asthma, their doctor, carer or emergency contact.

Many asthma action plans follow a traffic light system of green, amber and red to assess the severity of flare-ups, with green for under control and red for emergencies.

A response plan, which is part of the asthma action plan, should include:

• Maintenance/preventer therapy: doses and frequencies of regular medication.
• Treating flare-ups: how to adjust treatment in response to signs and symptoms.
• Managing increased severity: When to start oral corticosteroids and seek medical advice.
• Danger signs: when and how to seek urgent medical help.

The benefits of an asthma action plan?

Asthma action plans are one of the most effective asthma interventions available to people with asthma.

The plan helps to:

• Reduce absences from work and school
• Reduces hospital admissions
• Reduces emergency visits to your GP
• Reduces reliever medication use; and
• Improves lung function.

​Now doesn’t that make you breathe easier!
 
Content contributed by: Asthma Foundation of Tasmania.