If you’re having a severe asthma episode, do you know when it’s time to ask for help? Maybe you’re not sure what an asthma emergency feels like. Maybe you’re hoping that a really bad asthma episode will get better on its own. If you have questions about when it’s time to seek emergency treatment for asthma, don’t wait to ask. Take the time now to learn how to recognize the warning signs of an emergency. It could save your life.

What are the warning signs of an asthma emergency?

The warning signs aren’t the same for everybody — they may even change from episode to episode — but the American Medical Association offers some guidelines to help you recognize an asthma emergency:

• Your asthma symptoms continue to worsen, even after you’ve puffed on an inhaler or used your rescue medication. Most short-acting rescue medications (such as albuterol or proventil) take between 5 and 10 minutes to work. Ask your doctor how long it should take before your medication kicks in and your symptoms lessen.
• Your peak flow measurement goes into the red zone (less that 50% of your personal best), even after you’ve used your inhaler.
• You struggle to breathe. If you have to hunch over and contract the muscles in your chest and neck to get enough oxygen (a process called retraction), you’re struggling for breath. Flaring your nostrils to get more air into your airway is another sign that you’re having trouble breathing.
• You have trouble walking or talking. If you have to stop what you are doing because of an asthma episode, and you can’t start again even after you’ve used your inhaler, it’s time to get help.
• Your lips or fingernails turn gray or blue. This means you’re not getting enough oxygen.

I think I’m having an asthma emergency! What should I do?

Obviously, if you are experiencing any of the warning signs listed above, you should get emergency help immediately — even if the timing is inconvenient (in the middle of the night, for example). No matter what time of day or night, call your doctor right away or go to the emergency room. But most people don’t suddenly get these full-blown symptoms. Instead, what starts as a normal episode gets much worse over time. That’s why it’s a good idea to have an asthma action plan: a set of step-by-step written instructions from your doctor that tells you what to do during an asthma episode, and also tells you when your episode has crossed the line into an emergency. Your personalized asthma action plan should:

1. List your earliest warning signs (wheezing, coughing, and chest tightness) and changes in peak flow. A peak flow meter can also help predict emergencies before they happen, since peak flow numbers often decrease two or three days before an especially severe episode.
2. Specify what you should do first (take a certain number of puffs on your inhaler, for instance).
3. Explain how you can check your response (feel if your symptoms improve; use a peak flow meter to monitor air flow).
4. Tell you when it’s time to call the doctor or head for the emergency room (for example, after you’ve repeated the medication/evaluation cycle two or three times and your symptoms stay the same or you’re wheezing more than ever).

A written plan is especially helpful if your parents worry about you a lot. Since the plan is from your doctor, they may feel more confident helping you manage your symptoms at home. Because it tells you exactly when it’s time to get emergency care, a good asthma action plan may even save you an unnecessary trip to the emergency room.

By recognizing the warning signs and following your asthma action plan, you can stay in control during asthma episodes. And remember, it’s always better to go to the emergency room or, at the very least, call your doctor when you’re not sure if you’re having an asthma emergency.

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 29th, 2007 at 2:06 am and is filed under Teens. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.