Some circumstances you should come equipped with for the doctors evaluation are: - Your medical history - What your symptoms are How frequently they occur How they change with medication Individual triggers for symptoms - Your own allergies - Your family history On your visit, a doctor will test your lung function, using peak flow monitoring and spirometry to determine how quickly you expel air. Your heart feels like it is going to burst through your chest and panic sets in. All of this can be remedied or at the very least controlled. The Daily Plan You take your inhaler three or four times a day and that will help you to keep it under control, then of course you have your emergency alleviator that gives instant relief from a severe attack of breathlessness. THE GREEN ZONE: This is the ideal place to be. No symptoms, you are able to stretch yourself to the limits of your abilities, participate in normal, everyday activities, and even exert yourself to perform at your peak physical limits for decent periods of time. School or work isn t, at this point, posing a problem and your sleep is uninterrupted through the night. After all, how are you supposed to live with something that won t ever go away? You have to learn how to live with it because it won t ever go away. Living with asthma means learning how to breathe in a whole new way but it s not quite as daunting as it sounds. When you and your doctor learn that you re living with asthma, you ll be prescribed medication that helps open air passageways to promote air flow and clean breathing. A number of factors play in to the exercise-induced asthma: - Length of time exercising - Allergens, air pollution, or other triggers present - Humidity - Temperature However, a decision to NOT exercise is not a wise idea. Benefits of exercise include: - Heart/Lung efficiency - Strength/endurance - Flexibility/posture - Ability to relax while at rest You should always talk to your doctor if you are unsure whether the asthma symptoms are exercise-induced or not. Something less provocative but no less dangerous for people living with asthma are symptom triggers. These are things that don t usually cause the inflammation that lead to full blown attacks, but can incite clogged airways, not helping the already inflamed passageways. These include things such as smoke, intense cold, other various air pollutants, or chemical fumes.