Don't let asthma take over your summer

(ARA) - Spring and early summer often pose extra challenges for more than 23 million Americans - including more than 7 million children - who live with asthma. This year may be particularly difficult because plants and trees are producing more pollen and spores than in years past, according to allergy and asthma experts.

"Having asthma doesn't mean you have to spend the entire summer indoors," says Dr. Joseph Addiego, chief medical officer of Prescription Solutions, a pharmacy benefits management company. "If you understand what triggers your asthma and what controls it, you'll be able to enjoy a healthy and active life outdoors."

Addiego offers these tips for controlling your asthma this summer:

Understand your asthma. Asthma is as unique as the person who has it. While indoor factors, such as pet hair or dust, may trigger an attack for some, outdoor factors such as pollen may trigger an asthma attack for others. Keep a journal to track your personal triggers, which may change from season to season. Note the details of your actual asthma attacks, including frequency and duration, use of maintenance medications and rescue inhalers and other breathing-related data to share with your physician.

Take your medications. UnitedHealthcare estimates that about half of its health plan customers who use asthma medicines do not take their prescriptions as directed. Skipping needed medications, or not taking them on time, puts individuals at risk for more frequent and possibly more severe attacks. This situation represents wasted benefit dollars in terms of actual costs and increases the potential for negative health outcomes.

Plan ahead. If pollen is a trigger, check the daily pollen count that is often provided by your local newspaper, radio weather service, or television news channels. Then, plan your activities accordingly. If you are traveling, look up the weather forecast in advance and research environmental factors that might affect your asthma. Also, be sure you identify a local health care provider or hospital in the event of an emergency. Whether home or away, make sure you have enough of your asthma medications on hand.

Get extra help. People with asthma should know that there are programs that can help them improve their quality of life, with the supervision of their physician. For example, Prescription Solutions offers an asthma intervention program to help people better control their asthma. This program has been shown to reduce the number of asthma-related emergency room visits per year and produce cost savings of more than $300 per participant.

"Programs like our asthma intervention program are typically available at no cost to the individual," Addiego says. "These programs do not take the place of regular doctor visits, but offer great support that can help keep people with asthma going strong all summer long."

Courtesy of ARAcontent