Advocating for your health care
Something that I am incredibly passionate about is asthma advocacy. I’ve had asthma since I was a child but was not given an asthma diagnosis until I was an adult. When I would have an asthma attack that required treatment my mother would take me to the emergency room, where I would be treated with a nebulized albuterol treatment. The doctors would tell my mother that I had asthma like symptoms and send me home with an albuterol inhaler with no instruction on how to actually use it. My mother nor myself had the vocabulary to advocate for my health care which is why education and advocacy is so important to me.
A couple things that can help in your journey to managing your health care is:
- Speak up If you don’t understand something or need further instruction
- Ask for a second opinion or referal specifically to a specialist...in the case of asthmatic patients ask to see an allergist
- Ask your physician about control or combination inhalers that can help prevent severe asthma attacks
- Keep prescribed inhalers filled and available especially fast acting medications like albuterol in case of an attack
- Adherence to medical treatment can improve health care outcomes and prevent permanent damage to the airways
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