Health Plan of San Joaquin | Focus Your Health | Spring 2020

Tools for staying in control of your asthma Spring into action! Create an asthma action plan April showers bring May blos- soms, and what do blossoms bring? Allergies and asthma triggers. If you have asthma, spring can bring more asthma triggers. It’s important to know your triggers to help keep your asthma under control so you can live a healthy, active life. Triggers are irritants and allergens that cause your asthma symptoms. Triggers vary from person to person but may include dust, animal dander, tobacco smoke, mold, pollen, polluted air and chemicals from products such as hair spray. Your doctor can give you advice on how to reduce your exposure to triggers. Luckily, there are medicines that can help you breathe better. Did you know? Most people who have asthma take two kinds of medicines to help them breathe. One helps control your asthma every day. The other gives you quick relief when you’re having an attack. Here are three things to know about these important meds: 1 Control meds help prevent flare-ups. That’s why you should take them every day—even when you feel fine. They help keep down swelling in your airways and let you breathe better. 2 Using quick-relief meds too often is a red flag. If you need them more than two days a week, your asthma might not be under control. Let your doctor know. You may need to change your treatment plan. 3 Keeping asthma under control may help you: ●  Prevent ER visits. ●  Avoid hospital stays. ●  Prevent missed days at work or school. For more information, call the HealthReach 24/7 Advice Nurse Line at 800.655.8294 . This is a free benefit for all HPSJ members. Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute HealthReach 1981 Asthma attacks can be scary, more so if you are watching your child try to breathe or you are the one gasping for air. Asthma can make it hard to breathe at times. Signs of an asthma attack can include cough, tight-feeling chest and wheezing. There is no cure for asthma, but you can take con- trol of it. The asthma management program will connect you with a nurse who will go over: ● An asthma education plan. ●  Your asthma medicines. ● Knowing your triggers. If you would like to learn more about this program, or would like to self-refer, please contact our Disease Manage- ment staff at 888.318.7526 . 6 Focus Your Health