5 Questions to Ask With Poorly Controlled Asthma

Updated June 08, 2015.

Written or reviewed by a board-certified physician. See About.com's Medical Review Board.

If you are doing everything you can but you still have poorly controlled asthma, you may need to ask yourself these 5 questions:

Could It Be Something Else?

Not all that wheezes is asthma. A number of different diseases could lead to symptoms of poorly controlled asthma. You need to make sure that you have the correct diagnosis and that you are on the correct treatment plan. Your doctor may preform a whole host of different tests when you have symptoms of poorly controlled asthma.

Do I Need More Information?

Like any chronic disease, asthma is complicated. As a result there are a number of different things that you need to understand if you have poorly controlled asthma:
- What is the purpose of my asthma medication?
- How do I monitor my asthma?
- What side effects do I need to watch out for?
- How do I use my asthma inhaler?
- How do I use my nebulizer?
- How do I tell if my asthma is poorly controlled?
Learning how to talk with your doctor about your asthma is really important. If you can improve your communication, you may be able to improve your asthma control.
Is It My Workplace?

You might suspect that your work is contributing to your poorly controlled asthma if co-workers have asthma symptoms too, or if your poorly controlled asthma symptoms get better on the weekend or when you go on a vacation. This can sometimes be really difficult to figure out so you will have to partner closely with your doctor.

What are your exposures at work?
Is It My Environment?

Triggers are things that set off your asthma and may lead to poorly controlled asthma symptoms. You may have to actually become a detective to figure out what is leading to your poorly controlled asthma symptoms. Common triggers of poorly controlled asthma include:
Additionally, you may be exposed to indoor air pollution. Knowing about the quality of your air and what you can do about improving it may improve your asthma control.

Am I on the Correct Medication?

Asthma medication come in 2 basic flavors:
- Controller medications
- Rescue medications
Some asthma patients only need rescue medication, while most will need a controller medication plus a rescue medication, especially with poorly controlled asthma. Some patients will need more than one controller medication.

How and when you use each of these medications can be confusing. It is not uncommon for patients to get confused and get their asthma medications mixed up.

Your doctor will base the dose and frequency of your asthma medication on symptoms, peak flows, or both. As a result, monitoring your asthma is very important.

_Sources:

_{Conditions A-Z FamilyDoctor.org. Accessed December 14, 2010. Asthma: Controller and Quick-Relief Medicine}

_{National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Accessed: December 14, 2010. Expert Panel Report 3 (EPR3): Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma}

_{Asthma. In Chest Medicine: Essentials Of Pulmonary And Critical Care Medicine. Editors: Ronald B. George, Richard W. Light, Richard A. Matthay, Michael A. Matthay. May 2005, 5th edition.}