If you have asthma you'll be supported by a care team including a GP or nurse, and sometimes a specialist hospital doctor.

Your care team will explain how and when to use your medicines, how to monitor your asthma, ways to avoid triggers and reduce your symptoms, and what to do if your symptoms get worse.

This will be recorded in your asthma action plan, which you'll need to take to all your asthma appointments. You'll be given a printed or digital copy, or both.

You should have check-ups at least once a year to see how well your treatment is working. These will include checking that you're using your inhalers correctly and your asthma action plan is up to date.

Asthma inhalers

The main treatment for asthma is medicines you breathe in using an inhaler. For most people they work well to reduce or prevent asthma symptoms.

Depending on how severe your symptoms are, you may be offered either:

• an inhaler to use only when you get symptoms – this is called an anti-inflammatory reliever (AIR) inhaler
• an inhaler to use every day to help prevent symptoms, as well as when you get symptoms – this is called a maintenance and reliever therapy (MART) inhaler
• 2 separate inhalers – a preventer inhaler to use every day to help prevent symptoms, and a blue reliever inhaler to use when you get symptoms (you should not be given a blue reliever inhaler to use on its own)

Important:Using your inhaler

It's important to use your inhaler correctly so that your medicine works properly. There are different types, including dry powder inhalers, pMDIs and soft mist inhalers. A doctor, nurse or pharmacist will show you how to use yours.

Disposing of your inhalers

Return your empty, unwanted or expired inhalers to your local pharmacy.

When you put an inhaler in the bin, gases can leak out and contribute to climate change. Your local pharmacy can dispose of them safely.

Other treatments for asthma

If inhalers are not enough to stop your symptoms, your care team may also recommend a stronger inhaler or tablets that make breathing easier, such as montelukast.

If you have severe asthma that's not controlled by inhalers and tablets, you may be offered other treatments, such as medicines that you inject, called biological therapies.

Your care team will discuss with you which treatment is right for you, including any possible side effects.

Hospital treatment for an asthma attack

If you have a severe asthma attack that does not get better, you may need to be treated in hospital. Hospital treatments may include:

• oxygen through a mask
• using a nebuliser to breathe in high doses of medicine
• steroid tablets or injections