Understanding asthma

 If you’ve recently been diagnosed with asthma, or you think you or a member of your family might have asthma, then you need to get some basic facts. Find out what causes asthma, and what happens in your airways to cause asthma symptoms. Get an explanation of the process for diagnosis, including tests that can be done. Develop an understanding of what triggers are around you, and what sort of seasonal issues might affect your asthma. It’s also common for people with asthma to have other related conditions, such as allergies, hayfever, eczema and even COPD. We also have an asthma dictionary to explain commonly used asthma terms.

Once you’ve got all that information, you might want to go and have a look the managing asthma section, where you can find out about medications, and how you can take control of your asthma.

Need more information?

Contact our Information Line to talk to a trained health professional. Call 1800 645 130 or use our online form.