Asthma Management Care
Health professionals are advisers to your health, but ultimately you decide which
treatment is best for you. If you take an active role in your asthma care you tend to
have a better control over your condition as you are better educated and can
communicate your needs to health care professionals.
Choosing A Doctor
You probably already have a doctor but you need to think about whether this doctor is
the right person for you. A good relationship between doctor and patient will allow
the development of trust and communication. Some people like their doctor to run
their life, healthwise and some doctors like doing this. Other people want more
control over what goes into their body and there are doctors who like this approach as
well.
Often the three reasons why asthmatics change doctors are:
- that the previous doctor did not explain things sufficiently
- was unwilling to try to reduce their medication
- was unwilling to try new treatments and approaches
The first complaint is mainly based on a difference in personalities. For some people
“I’m the doctor and do as I say,” approach is not appealing.
There are two broad schools of thought in using medication - the “we’ll wait and
see” approach versus an “aggressive treatment” approach. Each point of view has
their own pros and cons. The minimal treatment approach is based on the fact that
many asthmatics and doctors wish to avoid side-effects associated with drug therapy.
Support for this position includes that asthma never used to be regarded as a fatal
disease and that despite the introduction of new asthma treatments asthma death rates
have not decreased. The aggressive therapy approach focuses on the fact that newer
asthma medications enable sufferers to get on with their lives, and the risk of these
side-effects are minimal compared to the benefit. Most doctors fall somewhere
between these two points of view.
Doctors are often conservative of complementary or non-traditional treatment
options. Conservative means not abandoning traditional clinically proven treatments
until something of greater clinical benefit comes along. Although some doctors, stick
only to the traditional treatment plan, the majority will accept the complementary
therapies provided the treatment will not harm the asthmatic and that you do not
abandon their traditional treatment.
Having a doctor whose attitudes are similar with your own view point facilitates good
communication. Ask yourself the following questions and then think how the
answers match up with your current doctor?
- Do you have better control of your asthma since you began visiting him or are you
using more medication and having more Asthma attacks? Compare this to your
dentist - would you keep going if he didn't stop the toothache?
- Do you want to be told what to do every step of the way or do you want a doctor
who allows you to make decisions about managing your health?
- Have you been sent home with no treatment only to be admitted to hospital three
hours later?
- Can you talk to him about your Asthma management or other treatments without
feeling intimidated?
- Would you be afraid to tell your doctor that you are visiting a masseur to help your
Asthma? If you are, is this the kind of doctor you want?
- If you need to talk to him does he have the time?
- Does he prescribe prednisone every time you sneeze even when you aren’t using
any reliever medication?
