Having asthma that is not controlled can be bothersome and sometimes downright scary. If you have to limit your activity to avoid asthma symptoms, then the disease is already reducing your quality of life. But uncontrolled asthma is more than just a nuisance. It can have a major impact on your ability to lead a happy, productive life and it carries a high risk of complications associated with the disease. Examples of some of the negative impact of uncontrolled asthma include:

• Adults with poorly-controlled asthma miss three times more work than those whose asthma is well-controlled, and children with uncontrolled asthma tend to miss more school.
• Studies indicate that pregnant women whose asthma is uncontrolled risk exposing their fetus to periods of low oxygen which can cause low birth weight and increased risk of fetal death; pregnant women with well-controlled asthma do not face these same risks.
• Having uncontrolled asthma leads to loss of lung function that can persist for long periods of time.
• People with uncontrolled asthma face increased risk of emergency hospitalization and, unfortunately, death.