An Asthma Action Plan is a written set of instructions prepared with your doctor or nurse that helps you to stay in control of your asthma.
Your written Asthma Action Plan outlines:
- What medication to take every day (even when you are feeling well).
- How to tell if your asthma is getting worse.
- What you should do if your symptoms are getting worse.
- What to do if you have an asthma attack.
Having a written asthma action plan can help to:
- Reduce your chance of needing to go to hospital, or for an urgent doctor visit
- Improve your lung function
- Reduce the number of days off work or school due to asthma
Sometimes plans are based on your symptoms, while others are based on your peak flow score. You and your doctor or nurse can decide together what will work best for you.
Update your Asthma Action Plan
Asthma Action Plans should be updated regularly by your GP in conjunction with an asthma review. For most adults, this should be at least once a year, and for children approximately every six months. For those people with more severe asthma, more frequent reviews might be needed.
There are different types of asthma action plans, and you can use whichever one suits you best.
To get your asthma action plan:
- Download one here
- Order a free Asthma Control Pack, which contains an asthma action plan as well as other tools and information to help to control your asthma.
- Ask your doctor to provide you with a written plan appropriate to your needs.
Go to our Resources section to see other types of written Asthma Action Plans.