Asthma control and therapy in Your hands...

In my experience, I feel that the name ASTHMA has always been taken with taboo by many people and doctors, so much so that people have developed myths that..'its incurable..' or 'its a lifelong disease needing life long treatment' 'medicines cause addiction' or once an inhaler always an inhalers'.. These myths are false; but due to this, many children and adults are taken to various different doctor and non doctor specialists; that keeps the patient incompletely cured and hence uncontrolled.
its time to control asthma. the very first way is to  @know that what the child or person is suffering from is an asthma for sure@
This is very important. If its not asthma; how will it get controlled?
The rule of asthma diagnosis needs to be clearly understood that 'ASTHMA IS DIAGNOSIS BY EXCLUSION' and when we donot follow this; we donot get to other diagnoses and get mismanaged.

So when you are not happy with treatment of your asthma; its wiser to insist to your doctor to consider nonasthma diagnoses causing similar symptoms seriously. read more in OTA section at www.breathingdiary.com

Once we are certain, it is asthma; the control of asthma can easily be handed over in hands of parents provided:
1. patient/parent have understood the symptoms, disease profile, symptom prediction by peak flow metry and charting and need for charting the symptom diary. Simplest yet best symptom diary for asthma at www.breathingdiary.com
2.patient / parent can easily be trained into classification of symptoms and rescue medicine concept by simple training. All patients donot need inhalers or steroids all the time. Remember rule of S at www.breathingdiary.com, that dictates the need for steroids.
3. Also, parents should understand the need for 'duration', 'step up-down therapy' and tapering therapy and also the need for allergen detection and avoidance when possible will help the patient be symptom free almost all the time.
4.An early eye on detecting associated morbidities and allergies; milk free diet and simultaneous treatment of any morbidity if any will prevent further symptom exacerbations.
If the education is effectively imparted to the parents/patient and family, schools and community; the reactive airway disease will remain controlled and cured in most cases; instead of remaining a scare with its name as ASTHMA.
- www.kondekar.com