Asthma Attack
Is this your symptom?
- You are having an asthma attack
- Use this guide only if a doctor has told you that you have asthma
Symptoms of Asthma
- Symptoms of an asthma attack are wheezing, a cough, tight chest, and trouble breathing.
- Wheezing is the classic symptom. Wheezing is a high-pitched whistling or purring sound. You can hear it best when you are breathing out.
- The diagnosis of asthma requires attacks of wheezing that recur. Onset may be in childhood or later in life.
Causes (Triggers) of Asthma Attacks
- Infections that affect breathing(like colds or the flu). You often can’t avoid these. Know that they might cause you to wheeze and use your inhalers, as instructed.
- Pollens(trees, grass and weeds). Keep windows closed and stay indoors when pollen counts are high.
- Animals(dogs, cats or rabbits). If they are a trigger for you, avoid contact with them, as much as possible. Do not allow them into your bedroom. Bathe them regularly.
- Tobacco smoke. Avoid smoking. Quit, if you are a smoker. Avoid second-hand smoke, too. If anyone in the family smokes, ask them to quit or ask them to smoke outdoors (away from you).
- Irritants(such as smog, car exhaust, barns, dirty basement). Avoid areas where there may be dust or fumes. Keep an eye on weather reports of the air quality. Stay indoors if the air quality is poor. Storms and bad weather can also trigger attacks.
- Food Allergy (serious). Asthma attacks caused by food allergy can be life-threatening (anaphylaxis). Common examples are nuts or fish. Avoid foods that you know will trigger your asthma.
- House dust mites.
- Use allergen-proof mattress and pillow covers to make a barrier between dust mites and yourself.
- Don’t use down-filled bedding: pillows, quilts, or comforters.
- Wash your bedding weekly and dry it completely.
- Vacuum carpets, area rugs, and floors weekly using a vacuum with a HEPA filter.
- Keep relative humidity levels in the home low, around 30- 50%.
- Pests(mice, cockroaches) are often found where food is eaten and crumbs are left behind. To control pests in your home:
- Clean dishes, crumbs, and spills right away.
- Keep trash outdoors or in a sealed container.
- Store food in airtight containers.
- Vacuum or sweep areas that might attract pests every 2-3 days.
- Keep counters, sinks, tables, and floors clean.
- Exercise can trigger an asthma attack.
- Mold.
- Mold grows in damp areas such as bathrooms and kitchens. Clean these areas weekly. Remove mold as soon as it starts to appear.
- Keep rooms well ventilated or use a dehumidifier to remove moisture from the air.
- Fix any leaks that are causing dampness. Replace any materials that have become badly affected by mold, such as carpets or rugs.
Asthma Attack Scale
- Mild: No Shortness of Breath (SOB) at rest. Mild SOB with walking. Can talk normally. Speaks in sentences. Can lay down flat. Wheezes not heard or mild. Green Zone: Peak Flow Rate 80-100% of normal rate.
- Moderate: SOB at rest. Speaks in phrases. Wants to sit (can't lay down flat). Wheezing can be heard. Retractions are present (ribs pull in with each breath). Yellow Zone: Peak Flow Rate 50-80% of normal rate.
- Severe: Severe SOB at rest. Speaks in single words. Struggling to breathe. Wheezing may be loud. Rarely, wheezing is absent due to poor air movement. Retractions may be severe. Red Zone: Peak Flow Rate less than 50% of normal rate.
- Some people with asthma can get worse (go from mild to severe) very quickly. If this has happened to you before, get care right away if you start to wheeze.
Peak Flow Meter:
- A peak flow meter measures Peak Flow Rates (PFR). It tells us how well a person can move air out of the lungs.
When to Call for Asthma Attack
Call 911 Now
Call Doctor or Seek Care Now
|
Contact Doctor Within 24 Hours
Contact Doctor During Office Hours
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Self Care at Home
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Call 911 Now
- Start to wheeze suddenly after a bee sting, taking medicine, or eating an allergic food
- Severe trouble breathing (struggling for each breath, can barely speak) or stopped breathing
- Passed out (fainted)
- Confused or very drowsy
- Lips or face are bluish when not coughing
- You think you have a life-threatening emergency
Call Doctor or Seek Care Now
- Pulse oxygen level less than 90% during asthma attack
- Lips or face have turned bluish during coughing
- PEFR is 50-80% of normal rate after using nebulizer or inhaler (Yellow Zone)
- Wheezing not gone 20 minutes after using nebulizer or inhaler
- Breathing is much faster than normal; may be getting exhausted
- Nonstop coughing is not better after using nebulizer or inhaler
- Severe chest pain
- Need to use asthma medicine (neb or inhaler) more often than every 4 hours
- Fever higher than 103° F (39.4° C)
- You feel weak or very sick
- You think you need to be seen, and the problem is urgent
Contact Doctor Within 24 Hours
- Mild wheezing lasts more than 24 hours on neb or inhaler treatments
- Sinus pain (not just congestion)
- Fever lasts more than 3 days
- Fever returns after being gone more than 24 hours
- You think you need to be seen, but the problem is not urgent
Contact Doctor During Office Hours
- Don't have written asthma action plan from your doctor
- Use an inhaler more often than you usually would
- Missed more than 1 day of work per month for asthma
- Asthma limits exercise or sports
- Asthma attacks wake you up from sleep
- No asthma check-up in more than 1 year
- You have other questions or concerns
Self Care at Home
- Mild asthma attack
Care Advice for an Asthma Attack
- What You Should Know About Asthma:
- Around 8% of adults have asthma.
- During an attack, the airways become narrowed.
- Without fast treatment, it can be life-threatening. People die from asthma each year.
- Asthma can flare up at any time. Different things can trigger an asthma attack in different people. See below for advice you can take to prevent these triggers causing an attack.
- When you are away from your home, always take your asthma medicines with you.
- The sooner you start treatment, the faster you will reverse the attack and feel better.
- Here is some care advice that should help.
- Asthma Quick-Relief Medicine:
- Quick-relief (rescue) medicine is albuterol or xopenex.
- Start it at the first sign of any wheezing, shortness of breath or hard coughing.
- Use as instructed. Use an inhaler, inhaler with a spacer (2 puffs each time) or a nebulizer (neb) machine.
- Repeat it every 4 hours if you have asthma symptoms. But if you are not getting better, or your symptoms are getting worse, seek care.
- Coughing. The best "cough med" for someone with asthma is most often the asthma medicine. It is often the wheeze that causes the person to cough. Caution: cough suppressants are not advised, but cough drops or warm fluids may help soothe a tickly throat.
- Caution: if the inhaler hasn't been used in more than 7 days, prime it. Test spray it twice into the air before using it for treatment. Also, do this if it is new.
- Use the medicine until you have not wheezed or coughed for 48 hours.
- Inhaler technique. Some people find it hard to use an inhaler and get the full dose of their medicine. Ask your doctor or nurse to observe you using your inhaler and give you advice on how to use it better, if needed.
- Spacer. A spacer is a plastic tube or holding chamber. It attaches to the inhaler at one end and you breathe through at the other (mouth) end. The spacer holds the asthma med sprayed into it while you take several breaths to breath it in. It will help you get twice the amount of medicine into your lungs.
- Asthma Controller Medicine:
- You may have been told to use a controller drug. An example is an inhaled steroid.
- It's for preventing attacks and must be used daily.
- During asthma attacks, keep using this medicine as ordered by your doctor or listed in your Asthma Action Plan.
- Allergy Medicine for Hay Fever:
- For signs of nasal allergies (hay fever), it's okay to take allergy medicine. Reason: poor control of nasal allergies makes asthma worse.
- Fluids - Drink More:
- Try to drink lots of fluids.
- Goal: stay well-hydrated.
- Reason: when you are breathing fast, you can start to get dehydrated. Fluids will loosen up any phlegm in the lungs. Then it's easier to cough up.
- Humidifier:
- If the air in your home is dry, use a humidifier. Reason: dry air makes coughs worse.
- Avoid Tobacco Smoke:
- Tobacco smoke makes asthma much worse.
- Don't let anyone smoke around you.
- Avoid or Remove Triggers:
- Shower to remove pollens or other allergens from the body and hair.
- Avoid known causes of asthma attacks (such as smoke or cats).
- During attacks, reduce exercise or sports if it makes your child's asthma worse.
- Exercise can be a trigger for some people.
- What to Expect:
- If treatment is started early, most asthma attacks are quickly brought under control.
- All wheezing should be gone by 5 days.
- Inhaler With a Spacer: How to Use
- Step 1. Shake the inhaler well. Then attach it to the spacer (holding chamber).
- Step 2. Breathe out completely and empty the lungs.
- Step 3. Close the lips and teeth around the spacer mouthpiece.
- Step 4. Press down on the inhaler. This will put one puff of the medicine in the spacer.
- Step 5. Breathe in slowly until the lungs are full.
- Step 6. Hold a deep breath for 10 seconds. Allow the medicine to work deep in the lungs.
- If your doctor has ordered 2 or more puffs, wait 1 minute. Then repeat steps 1-6.
- Metered Dose Inhaler (MDI): How to Use Without a Spacer(if you don't have one)
- Step 1. Shake the inhaler well.
- Step 2. Breathe out completely and empty the lungs.
- Step 3. Close the lips and teeth around the inhaler mouthpiece.
- Step 4. Press down on the inhaler to release a puff. Do this just as your child starts to breathe in.
- Step 5. Breathe in slowly until the lungs are full.
- Step 6. Hold a deep breath for 10 seconds. Allow the medicine to work deep in the lungs.
- If your doctor has ordered 2 or more puffs, wait 1 minute. Then repeat steps 1-6.
- Ask your doctor for a spacer if you don't have one. It will help send more medicine into the lungs.
- Adults who don't like a spacer can be prescribed an albuterol dry powder device.
- Home Nebulizer: How to Use:
- A nebulizer machine changes a liquid medicine (med) into a fine mist. The fine mist can carry the med deep into the lungs. This is called a nebulizer (neb) treatment.
- Step 1. Prepare the medicine. First, wash your hands with soap and water. For pre-mixed single dose vials, just add one vial to the neb holding cup. For multi-dose vials, you need to do the mixing. First, add the correct amount of normal saline to the neb cup. Then carefully measure and add the correct amount of medicine to the saline.
- Step 2. Connect the nebulizer to the air compressor tubing. The air compressor is run by electricity. Portable ones run on a battery. Compressors make the jet of air that turns the medicine into a fine mist.
- Step 3. Turn on the air compressor. It will start making the fine mist that your child needs.
- Step 4. Place the mouthpiece between your teeth and seal with the lips. Breathe slowly and deeply. Hold a deep breath for 10 seconds once a minute.
- Step 5. Continue the treatment until the med is gone. If the med sticks to the side of the cup, shake it a little. An average neb treatment takes 10 minutes.
- Step 6. After each treatment, take the nebulizer apart. Rinse and clean it as directed. Reason: it can't produce mist if it becomes clogged up.
- Caution: closely follow your doctor's instructions. Use the exact amount of med your doctor ordered. If you feel you need a neb treatment more often than every 4 hours, see your doctor for advice.
- Call Your Doctor If:
- Trouble breathing occurs
- Asthma quick-relief medicine (neb or inhaler) is needed more than every 4 hours
- Wheezing lasts more than 24 hours
- You think you need to be seen
- Your symptoms get worse
And remember, contact your doctor if you develop any of the 'Call Your Doctor' symptoms.
Disclaimer: this health information is for educational purposes only. You, the reader, assume full responsibility for how you choose to use it.
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