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What is my doctor's role in looking after my asthma? Your doctor is very important in diagnosing your asthma and making sure you are on the right medication. Your doctor will also play a role in educating you about your asthma and ensuring that you remain well. Some general goals which you doctor will have in mind when looking after your are: (1) To keep you free of symptoms during the day and night. (2) To be able to carry out all normal activities including exercise. (3) No work or school missed because of your asthma. (4) To keep your lungs working at their best all the time. (5) To keep you as well as possible on the least amount of medication. (6) To ensure you need no emergency visits or admissions to hospital. (7) To make sure that you are satisfied with the care you are receiving for your asthma. Whether your asthma is mild, moderate or severe, your doctor will be aiming to keep you as well as possible. How often should I visit my doctor? There is no one answer to this question. How often you visit your doctor will depend on a number of things, such as how well you are, and how big a part you play in managing your asthma at home. By learning about your own asthma and monitoring your condition at home, you can be more in control of how often you need to see your doctor. To do this you should have your own self-management plan: you can find out more about this in the page Having a Self-Management Plan. Whether or not you have a plan, you may need to see you doctor more frequently if your asthma is going through a bad phase, until things stabilise again. Alternatively, if you have been well for say 3 to 6 months, you should then visit your doctor as this may mean you can reduce your regular medication. How does my doctor assess me? As asthma is so variable, the doctor may find you very well when you visit the surgery, even though you may have been very unwell with your asthma. This means that the doctor must assess how well you are not only at the time of the visit, but also on the basis of how you have been in the days and weeks running up to the visit. An accurate assessment of how well you are is essential so that the doctor can decide which medications you need and how much. Monitoring and recording things about your asthma can give your doctor a wealth of information at a glance. This will make it much easier to assess how well you have been. You can find out more about monitoring in Getting to Know Your Asthma. What is an asthma clinic? An asthma clinic is a session run by a doctor and/or a nurse who is trained in asthma. The trained nurses generally provide back up and support for the care you receive from your doctor. They often run the asthma clinics, where they have more time than the doctor to spend with you and answer any questions you may have. In a friendly and relaxed environment, you can spend time on a one-to-one basis with the nurse who will do one or more of the following: (1) Answer any questions you may have about your asthma. (2) Give you general information and education on asthma. (3) Teach you the correct way to use your inhalers. (4) Show you how to monitor your asthma at home. (5) Help you take control of your asthma by working with you on a suitable self-management plan.

Topic "Take Control" Updated 14th August 2003

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