Asthma - 3 - Condition & Symptoms

Possible Action Steps

Discuss the concept that asthma control is largely a result of self-managing medications plus avoiding triggers plus not smoking plus managing emotions/stress.
Encourage the individual to take steps to become an asthma trigger-tracking pro; meeting the recommended self-care guidelines as outlined by doctor and other healthcare providers.
Together, have an honest conversation about the individual's true feelings about having asthma. How do these feelings impact her/his self-management of medications, triggers, smoking and emotions/stress?
Discuss some of the behaviors that worsen asthma (smoking, inactivity, poor diet, poor stress management) - talk about how they can cause other health problems as well (e.g., obesity, lung cancer, high cholesterol, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, etc).
Encourage individual to record asthma symptoms, peak flow measure, medications, and diet using an asthma symptom diary and the Asthma Action Plan.
Together, identify ways that stress impacts individual's asthma self-management plan.
Discuss effective stress coping skills and put them to use to control stress and better manage asthma.
Discuss how to best interact with healthcare providers to form a productive care partnership.

Supporting Resources

Possible Action Steps

Discuss the three target zones for managing asthma:
- Green Zone: no cough, chest tightness or shortness of breath during the day or night; can do usual activities and have 80% of best beak flow as measured by a peak flow meter. Doing well.
- Yellow Zone: cough, wheeze, chest tightness, or shortness of breath or waking up at night due to asthma symptoms or can do some but not all usual activities. Asthma is getting worse.
- Red Zone: very short of breath or quick-relief medicines have not helped or cannot do usual activities or symptoms are same or worse after 24 hours in Yellow Zone. Medical alert
Encourage individual to read the Asthma Treatment Guidelines resource.
Encourage individual to measure and record peak flow once each day.
DIscuss actual and ideal body weight and BMI.
- Work to create a plan to make changes in nutrition and activity to achieve weight/BMI goals.
Discuss actual and recommended daily calorie intake levels.
- Work to create a plan using nutrition section goals to achieve calorie targets.
Discuss actual and recommended weight and waist measurements
- Work to create a plan to achieve target weight and waist measurements.

Supporting Resources

Possible Action Steps

Together make a list of inexpensive and fun ways to self-reward for behaviors that improve peak flow and keep individual in asthma Green Zone. Avoid rewards that involve junk food, smoking and being inactive.
- Green Zone: no cough, chest tightness or shortness of breath during the day or night; can do usual activities and have 80% of best beak flow as measured by a peak flow meter. Doing well.
- Yellow Zone: cough, wheeze, chest tightness, or shortness of breath or waking up at night due to asthma symptoms or can do some but not all usual activities. Asthma is getting worse.
- Red Zone: very short of breath or quick-relief medicines have not helped or cannot do usual activities or symptoms are same or worse after 24 hours in Yellow Zone. Medical alert
Encourage individual to self-reward when individual meets milestones such as:
- Self-checking and tracking peak flow the recommended number of times each day for one full month.
- Not smoking for one day; one week;one month.
- Meeting weekly physical activity goal for the week.
- Not exceeding daily calorie goal for the entire week.
- Losing a pound or reducing BMI by 1/2 point.
- Adhering to asthma medication schedule for the week.
- Not having an asthma attack for one week; one month; 6 months; one year.
- Controlling asthma symptoms without having to use quick-relief medicines for one day, one week, one month

Supporting Resources