If you are experiencing any of the signs and symptoms of an attack, you should be taking your reliever medication immediately and be seen by a doctor.  If your reliever medication does not give you relief quickly, you should call 911.  This can be a very serious and life threatening situation and you do not want to waste time.  At the hospital you will most likely be given oral or intravenous corticosteroids as well as an inhaled reliever medication and oxygen if necessary.  Your progress will be monitored by doing peak flow measurements, spirometry and using oximetry to monitor your oxygen levels.

It is important to note that the majority of these severe asthma episodes can be avoided by having good control of your asthma.  For more information about good asthma control and how to achieve it, please visit the section “How to control asthma”. Having an Asthma Action plan in place to know what to do when your asthma symptoms begin to worsen can make the difference between improving your breathing or ending up in the hospital. A copy of the asthma action plan can be download. If you do not have an asthma action plan, you can download a copy and bring it to your doctor or asthma educator during your next visit.