Asthma

What is asthma?

Asthma is a condition that impacts your airways, or the pathways your body uses to pull air into your lungs. Asthma can cause your airways to become inflamed or clogged with mucus, limiting your ability to take a full, deep breath. 

The most common symptoms of asthma include:

• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain
• Wheezing when you breathe
• Coughing or wheezing that worsens with certain illnesses
• Chest pain or tightness

Your asthma symptoms may be present throughout your day or they might be brought on or worsened by certain triggers. Some people have allergy- or exercise-induced asthma, for example. 

For some, asthma creates only a minor inconvenience. But asthmatic symptoms can escalate to an asthma attack, during which the blockage to your airways becomes so severe that it’s life-threatening. However your asthma impacts you, the team at Encino Park Family Health & Wellness Clinic is available to put together a treatment plan for you. They also offer asthma treatment for kids. 

How is asthma treated?

It depends on the severity of your or your child’s asthma and what triggers it. For some people, avoiding asthma triggers or addressing them directly (e.g., taking allergy medication) is enough to keep their airways uninhibited. 

Encino Park Family Health & Wellness Clinic also offers both medications to control asthma long-term and quick relief inhalers to bring relief when you or your child need it. 

Additionally, they work with you to develop an asthma action plan.

What is an asthma action plan?

An asthma action plan helps you treat your or your child’s asthma while also informing the relevant parties of the right steps to take in the event the asthma worsens. This is especially powerful for school-aged children because it gives their teachers and school staff members a detailed plan to follow should your child experience asthma at school.

The asthma action plan is broken into three zones: green, yellow, and red. The green zone is where you want to be throughout the day, while the yellow zone starts when you or your child are experiencing symptoms and need to start treatment. The red zone details how to seek emergency medical care when asthma becomes severe. If you or your child are living with asthma, an asthma action plan gives you concrete steps to take to protect the ability to breathe.

To get started with asthma treatment, call Encino Park Family Health & Wellness Clinic or make your appointment online today.