Guidelines for what constitutes well controlled asthma recently updated by AAAAI and ACAAI

Attaining optimal asthma control is an important goal of all physicians attending to those with asthma. Recently, the practice parameters for ensuring this outcome were updated by a Joint Task force of the American Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology (AAAAI) and the American College of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology (ACAAI).

The first step in determining how to treat the disease is to determine what constitutes well controlled asthma. According to the Task Force paper published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology asthma should be considered well controlled when: 1. Asthma symptoms are twice a week or less 2. rescue bronchodilator medicine is used twice a week or less 3. there is no nocturnal or early morning awaking 4. there are no limitations of work, school, or exercise 5. the patient and their physician consider their asthma well controlled and 6. the patient's PEF or FEV1 is normal or his or her personal best.

Surveys indicate that a large percentage of those with asthma are not in the well controlled classification. Proper avoidance of asthma triggers and the use of proper medications are critical to the control of this chronic, but treatable disease. If you or someone in your family has asthma that is not well controlled, it is advised to seek the care of a physician to develop an appropriate program.

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