Keeping up with school friends and all your other activities can sometimes make it hard to control your asthma. That's where your Asthma Action Plan comes in. It can help you prevent and deal with an asthma attack.
Your Asthma Action Plan has three zones: green, yellow and red, like a stoplight. Which zone you're in depends on your symptoms. Your doctor may also have you use a peak flow meter to monitor your asthma.
You're in the green go zone When you're feeling well. You're able to go to school, hang out and your friends, and do other activities. You aren't coughing, wheezing, or having trouble breathing, and your peak flow reading is between 80 percent and 100 percent of your personal best.
To help you stay in the green zone, take your daily medicines--preventive, long-term controller, or both. Your Asthma Action Plan lists how much to take, as well as when and how often. It also lists your asthma triggers, the things you need to stay away from so you don't trigger your asthma symptoms.
If you start to have symptoms like trouble breathing or coughing a lot, you're in the yellow caution zone. Your peak flow reading is between 50 percent and 80 percent of your personal best. You're having an asthma attack or asthma flare-up.
Your symptoms may wake you up at night and you may have trouble doing all your usual activities. Keep taking your daily medicines and start taking your quick-relief medicines, as written in your plan. Doing so can help you get back into the green zone.
Your plan will also tell you when your doctor needs to be called.
Sometimes your symptoms can get worse even after taking your medicines the right way. You may have lots of trouble breathing and shortness of breath, and your peak flow reading is less than 50 percent of your personal best.
Stop. This is the red danger zone. Take your quick-relief medicine or other types of medication like your plan says. Then tell a friend or an adult how you're feeling. Have that person call your doctor or 911 right away.
Talk with your doctor about your Asthma Action Plan at least once a year. Together you can make sure it still works for you.
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Author: Laura Semko
Online Medical Reviewer: Pierce-Smith, Daphne, RN, MSN, CCRC
Date Last Reviewed: 02/01/2020
© 2000-2026 The StayWell Company, LLC. All rights reserved. This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical care. Always follow your healthcare professional's instructions.
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