Sometimes, no matter how careful you are about taking your asthma treatment and avoiding your triggers, you may find that you have an asthma attack. You should be doing daily peak flow measurements to determine your need for additional treatments or medications.

Quite often, using your reliever is all that is needed to get your asthma under control again. Have a plan for what to do in an emergency.

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What To Do in an Asthma Attack

• Take your usual dose of reliever immediately, as directed.

• Relax as much as you can. Sit down, don't lie down. Rest your hands on
  your knees to help support yourself and slow your breathing down. This
  will make you less exhausted.
  
  
• Wait 5-10 minutes. If the symptoms disappear, you should be able to go
  back to whatever you were doing.
  
  
• If the reliever has no effect, CALL 911. It is safe to keep taking your reliever
  inhaler until help arrives. It is not possible to overdose on reliever.
  

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Other Important Information

• Do not be afraid of asking for help, even at night. It is better to err on the side
  of safety. Asthma can be fatal.
  
  
• Take the details of your treatment with you. Call us after you have been discharged
  so that we can review your treatment to avoid the situation arising again.
  
  
• If your asthma symptoms are slowly getting worse, don't ignore them! Most people find that attacks follow a gradual worsening of symptoms over a few days. Doing daily peak flow measurements can determine when to seek help.