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Asthma

As fall allergies kick in, now is a great time to meet with your doctor regarding your asthma action plan. Childhood asthma often worsens in the fall with subsequent increases in hospitalization rates. You can work with your doctor to create your own personal asthma action plan. The plan will describe your daily treatments such as which medicines to take and when to take them. The plan also will explain when to call your doctor or when to go to the emergency room. You can record your asthma symptoms in a diary to see how well your treatments are controlling your asthma.

Your asthma is well controlled if:

• You have symptoms no more than two days a week and these symptoms
  don’t wake you from sleep more than one or two nights a month.
• You can do all your normal activities.
• You take quick-relief medicines no more than two days a week.
• You have no more than one asthma attack a year that requires you to take
  corticosteroids by mouth.
• Your peak flow doesn’t drop below eighty percent of your personal best number.

If your asthma is not well controlled, or you have concerns, give us a call. The doctors at Cedar Park Pediatric and Family Medicine all treat asthma and we also provide state-of-the-art spirometry that measures your lung functions. With this tool we can provide better diagnosis and treatment.

While everyone is recommended to get a flu vaccine, people at high risk of serious flu complications include young children and people with chronic health conditions, like asthma. It’s very important to protect your asthmatic child with a flu vaccine.

Call us today for an appointment at 512-336-2777 to review your asthma and get your flu shot. You can also get the whole family vaccinated against influenza during our flu clinic.

Links:
America Academy of Pediatrics - www.aap.org
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - www.cdc.gov
National Heart Lung and Blood Institute - www.nhlbi.nih.gov