Do you have asthma? Does your child have asthma? Do you think your asthma is under control? Do you think your child’s asthma is under control? Think again. The reality is that most patients and most parents of children with asthma consistently overestimate the level of asthma control they have. While it has been known for  almost a decade now that adult patients are not very good at “perceiving” their asthma. Recent data published in the European Respiratory Journal suggests the same is true for parents of children with asthma. In this study parents typically overestimated the level of asthma control their child was able to obtain. Incredibly, almost 70% of these patients altered their lifestyle because of their asthma.

This is a incredible difficult “nut to crack”. Patients and their parents are perceiving their asthma to be under control and then they are told this is not true. Talk about an difficult conversation. “Yes Mr Jones I know you think you are doing well but I can tell you I know you may not be”.

So what to do? First off realize that your perception of you asthma control or your child’s asthma control is probably not right. This is not to say you are doing the wrong thing treating your asthma but your perception may not be consistent with breathing test data or detailed questioning. This is why it is important to have regular consistent follow – up with your asthma Doctor. They will asked detailed questions trying to ascertain how you are doing and then check your breathing test to make sure your FEV1 is the best it can be. Adjustments may be made to your treatment and there may be more intensive follow – up visits. Remember the goal of asthma therapy is to be able to do whatever you want to do without limitations.

Do you want to be apart of the 70% who have changes their lifestyle to accommodate their asthma?