Is My Asthma Medicine Working?

To make sure that you are getting the most benefit from your asthma medicines, ask yourself the following questions. If you answer yes to any of them, you and your health care provider may need to adjust your care plan:

• Have you missed work or school because of your asthma?

• Do you limit your activity because of asthma?

• Do you lose sleep because of asthma?

• Have you gone to the emergency department or your health care provider’s office because of a flare-up?

• Do you avoid medicine or stray from the medicine’s instructions or prescribed dose in any way?

• Are you relying on your relief (rescue) medicine more often?

• Do you have bad side effects from your asthma medicine?

• Are you unsure whether you are taking the medicine the right way?

Remember, having asthma symptoms that require you to use your rescue medication more than twice a week is a sign that your asthma isn’t well-controlled.