Being diagnosed with asthma should not be viewed as an end but more of a jumping off point. It is the first step in a journey to help reduce your symptoms and minimize the impact of the disease on your life, in other words, to get your asthma under control. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) the ultimate goal of treatment for asthma should be to allow its sufferers to live symptom-free. Thus, successful asthma treatment should not only reduce your current symptoms, but also help you limit your use of rescue medicines and maintain your normal activity levels such as attending work and school, exercising, and performing other physical activities. In order to achieve these goals, at the time of your diagnosis with asthma your doctor should design a treatment strategy that is based on both the pattern and severity of your symptoms and the level of your lung function before you have started taking any medications. The four main classifications of asthma severity (measured prior to starting medications) are:

• Intermittent asthma is the mildest form of asthma, with symptoms up to twice a week and normal or near-normal lung function.
• Mild persistent asthma is accompanied by symptoms more than twice a week, but no more than once in a single day. Lung function testing may be normal or mildly abnormal.
• Moderate persistent asthma symptoms occur once a day. Lung function is often significantly lower than normal.
• Severe persistent asthma is the most severe form, causing symptoms throughout the day on most days. Lung function is often far below the normal range and many patients with severe asthma have required hospitalization for severe asthma symptoms.

Your doctor will prescribe medication to help you control your asthma symptoms based on the combination of your asthma severity and its level of control. He or she may also help you develop an asthma action plan that describes how and when to take your medications, how to best avoid factors that worsen your asthma, how Your doctor will presc asthma control, how to respond to worsening asthma symptoms, and how to seek emergency care when needed.

While these treatments are designed to best treat your asthma symptoms they are, at best, a guess. People differ widely in their responsiveness to asthma treatments: what works for one person with asthma that is classified as “moderate persistent” may not work for someone else with the same symptoms. Thus, a critical part of bringing your asthma symptoms under control is making regular follow-up trips to your doctor so he or she can assess how your treatments are working and adjust them accordingly. You can help by charting your symptoms at home and reporting back to your doctor about them. Your doctor may prescribe a peak flow meter, a handheld lung function measurement device allows you to track your lung function at home. Based on the symptoms you are experiencing, the doctor may switch your medication or increase the dosage of your current medication to help you gain better control over your symptoms; he or she may even reduce your dosage if your asthma seems to be well-controlled.