Issue Date: May 25, 2008
How to assess your asthma
A new way to evaluate your treatment options
20 million Americans suffer from asthma.
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The American Lung Association estimates that 20 million Americans suffer from asthma. Not all of them have the same triggers, and not all of them require the same treatment.
If you have asthma, learning as much as you can will help you when deciding on your best treatment option. The American Lung Association has a wonderful resource called the "NexProfiler Treatment Option Tool for Asthma" (go to lungusa.org and click on "asthma" on the left). This free Web-based program is designed to help you determine what treatment options may be appropriate for your particular situation. To use the tool, you must answer a series of questions about your condition. These include such things as your age, the frequency of your use of "rescue" medicines (to help with acute attacks) and the time of day when you tend to have attacks. The tool also asks about some specific tests your doctor will have performed to look at the level of airflow in your lungs.
After you complete the questions, the NexProfiler gives you the specifics about your condition, including treatment options. Your report will help you weigh the pros and cons of each treatment and offer questions to ask during your next doctor's visit.
Contributing Editor Tedd Mitchell, M.D., president of Dallas' Cooper Clinic, writes HealthSmart every week.
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