Guide to Asthma

Conclusion

It is likely that after reading this Guide and practicing your skills on the Practice Examples, you will still have many questions about your asthma. There will be specific items that you are not yet clear about. You will have heard different information about some points, including from reliable sources, and will want to clarify the conflicting opinions. And, we hope, you will want to learn more about many subjects not specifically discussed in this booklet, such as the role of allergy shots in asthma, managing asthma during pregnancy, and the long-term effects of asthma on your lungs.

Like all introductory guides, this Asthma Guide is only a first step. Your learning about asthma will be lifelong. Many helpful sources of information are available to you. You begin, of course, with your own observations and experiences. You learn in this way about what works and what doesn't work for you.

We encourage you to discuss your asthma questions with your doctor. Your asthma care is a cooperative undertaking between you and your doctor; your shared understanding about asthma will help to strengthen that collaboration.

At the Partners Asthma Center, our doctors and nurses and pulmonary function specialist are all eager to answer your questions. In addition, our Asthma Support Group meets monthly for presentation of information about specific topics and open interactive discussion about any topic that you wish to raise.

Many additional resources are available to you. Some are listed in the next and final section of this Guide. Others you will find listed in your local newspaper or learn from a friend.

Be an asthma learner — and keep breathing freely.