- October 3, 2026
Living with asthma can feel manageable when symptoms are under control, but knowing what to do when breathing problems suddenly get worse is just as important. An asthma action plan gives you clear, personalised instructions for managing asthma every day, recognising worsening symptoms and responding appropriately during an asthma attack.
In the UK, your GP, asthma nurse or another healthcare professional can help you create an asthma action plan based on your symptoms, medicines, inhaler type and individual asthma triggers. The plan should explain what treatment to take routinely, what to do when your symptoms worsen and what emergency action to take if you have an asthma attack.
A written plan can also make it easier for family members, carers or other people around you to understand what to do if your asthma suddenly becomes difficult to control.
This guide explains what an asthma action plan is, what to include, how to create one with your GP, when to update it and what to do during an asthma flare-up or attack.
An asthma action plan is a personalised written guide that explains how to manage your asthma in different situations.
It normally covers three important stages:
When your asthma is well controlled: what medicines to take and how to manage your asthma routinely.
When symptoms start getting worse: how to recognise deterioration and what steps to take.
During an asthma attack: what emergency treatment to use and when to seek urgent help.
Asthma + Lung UK describes personalised asthma action plans as essential written guides for asthma management, with routine treatment, worsening symptoms and emergency action forming the core elements.
Your plan should be specific to you rather than simply being a generic list of asthma advice.
For example, it may include your:
Regular asthma medicines
Reliever or combination inhaler instructions
Inhaler doses
Known asthma triggers
Typical warning symptoms
Peak flow readings, where appropriate
Steps to take when symptoms worsen
Emergency instructions
GP or asthma nurse details
Emergency contact information
Asthma symptoms can change over time. Someone who normally feels well may experience worsening symptoms because of an infection, allergens, smoke, cold air, exercise or another trigger.
Without a written plan, it can be difficult to remember exactly what your healthcare professional previously advised, particularly when you are short of breath or anxious.
An asthma action plan provides a simple reference point.
It can help you:
Recognise early signs that asthma is worsening
Understand when to use your prescribed inhaler
Know what to do if symptoms increase
Understand when you need urgent medical attention
Reduce uncertainty during an asthma flare-up
Explain your asthma treatment to family or carers
Keep your treatment instructions up to date
NHS guidance states that your asthma action plan should be taken to asthma appointments and kept up to date. NHS also recommends asthma check-ups at least annually, including checking inhaler technique and treatment effectiveness.
If you have asthma but do not currently have an action plan, speak to your GP, asthma nurse or another healthcare professional involved in your asthma care.
You can ask directly:
“Can we create or update my personalised asthma action plan?”
Asthma + Lung UK provides different action-plan formats depending on the treatment approach, including plans for separate preventer and reliever inhalers, AIR treatment and MART treatment.
Your healthcare professional can help you complete the plan so that the instructions match your prescribed medicines and your individual symptoms.
Do not copy another person’s inhaler instructions or change your prescribed asthma medication without discussing it with an appropriate healthcare professional.
A useful asthma action plan should give you practical instructions rather than general information.
The first section should explain what medicines you normally take to keep your asthma under control.
Depending on your treatment plan, this could include an inhaler that you use regularly, an AIR inhaler, a MART inhaler or separate preventer and reliever inhalers.
Your plan should clearly state:
The name of the medicine
The inhaler or device you use
How often you should take it
How many puffs or doses you should use
When you should take it
Any specific instructions provided by your healthcare professional
NHS guidance notes that asthma treatment may involve AIR, MART or separate preventer and reliever inhalers depending on the individual’s circumstances.
Your plan should help you understand what your asthma normally feels like when it is controlled.
Common asthma symptoms can include:
Wheezing
Coughing
Shortness of breath
Chest tightness
Difficulty exercising because of breathing symptoms
Symptoms that become worse at night or early in the morning
Knowing your normal pattern makes it easier to recognise a change.
Your asthma action plan should explain what happens when your symptoms begin to deteriorate.
You might notice:
Increased coughing
More frequent wheezing
Increased breathlessness
Chest tightness
Difficulty sleeping because of symptoms
Reduced ability to exercise
Needing your reliever more frequently
A change in peak flow, if peak-flow monitoring is part of your plan
The exact warning signs differ between people, which is why discussing them with your GP or asthma nurse is important.
Many asthma action plans use a traffic-light system to make instructions easier to understand.
The green section generally represents your usual asthma control.
It may explain:
Your regular medication
How to use your inhalers
Your usual symptoms
Your normal peak-flow range, if applicable
The aim is to help you maintain good asthma control rather than simply reacting when symptoms appear.
The yellow section explains what to do when your asthma symptoms begin increasing.
You may notice:
More coughing or wheezing
Increased breathlessness
Chest tightness
Reduced activity levels
More frequent symptoms
A reduction in your peak flow, if you monitor it
Your personalised plan should tell you exactly what action to take at this stage.
Do not create your own medication changes based on a generic internet article. Your GP or asthma nurse should provide the specific instructions for your treatment.
The red section explains what to do if your asthma becomes severe or you are having an asthma attack.
Your action plan should contain clear emergency instructions, including when to call 999.
If you are having a severe asthma attack, follow your personalised emergency plan and seek urgent medical help. NHS and asthma organisations provide specific emergency guidance, and your action plan should be the primary reference for your prescribed treatment.
Creating an asthma action plan is usually a collaborative process. Your GP or asthma nurse can help you make the instructions specific to your condition.
Arrange an appointment with your GP, asthma nurse or appropriate healthcare professional.
An asthma review is a good opportunity to discuss:
Your current symptoms
How often symptoms occur
Night-time symptoms
Exercise-related symptoms
Your inhaler use
Any recent asthma attacks
Your asthma triggers
Your medication
Your inhaler technique
Whether your current treatment is working effectively
NHS guidance recommends regular asthma check-ups and reviewing whether treatment is working.
Take your inhalers and other relevant medicines to the appointment if possible.
Your healthcare professional can check:
What you are currently prescribed
Whether you are taking medicines as instructed
Whether your inhaler technique is correct
Whether your treatment needs reviewing
Do not assume that needing your reliever more frequently is simply something you have to live with. Increased symptoms can be a sign that your asthma needs reassessment.
Asthma triggers vary from person to person.
Potential triggers can include:
Pollen
Dust mites
Animal allergens
Smoke
Air pollution
Cold air
Respiratory infections
Exercise
Workplace exposures
Strong smells or fumes
Tell your GP what you have noticed.
For example, if your symptoms regularly become worse during pollen season, after exposure to smoke or when exercising outdoors in cold weather, this information can help your healthcare professional understand your asthma pattern.
Ask your GP to help you identify the signs that your asthma is becoming less controlled.
These may include subtle changes that you notice before a serious flare-up.
Your plan should make the difference between your usual asthma symptoms and significant deterioration as clear as possible.
Your GP or asthma nurse can explain exactly what you should do at each stage.
This may include instructions relating to your specific inhaler and treatment plan.
For example, people using different treatment approaches may have different action plans. Asthma + Lung UK provides separate plans for AIR, MART and other treatment approaches.
Before leaving your appointment, make sure you understand:
What constitutes an asthma emergency
Which treatment to use
How to use it
When to call 999
What to do while waiting for emergency help
If any instruction is unclear, ask your healthcare professional to explain it again.
Your asthma action plan will depend partly on the treatment approach you have been prescribed.
AIR stands for anti-inflammatory reliever.
It uses an inhaler containing an inhaled corticosteroid and formoterol that can be used as a reliever when symptoms occur, according to the treatment plan prescribed by your clinician.
Asthma + Lung UK provides a specific AIR asthma action plan explaining when to use the inhaler, what to do if symptoms worsen and what emergency action to take.
The instructions must be personalised to your prescribed inhaler and should not be copied from another person’s plan.
MART stands for Maintenance and Reliever Therapy.
With MART, one combination inhaler is used as both the regular maintenance treatment and the reliever, according to the prescribed regimen.
Your GP or asthma nurse should explain:
When to take your maintenance doses
When you should take additional doses for symptoms
Your maximum prescribed dose
What to do if symptoms become worse
When emergency treatment is required
A MART action plan can make these instructions easier to follow.
Peak flow monitoring may be useful for some people with asthma, but it is not appropriate or necessary for everyone.
A peak flow meter measures how quickly you can breathe air out of your lungs.
If your healthcare professional recommends monitoring your peak flow, your action plan may include personalised readings or ranges.
These readings can help you identify changes in your asthma control alongside your symptoms.
However, do not rely on a peak-flow number alone if you are experiencing severe symptoms. Follow the emergency instructions in your action plan and seek urgent medical assistance when required.
Your asthma action plan should be reviewed regularly and whenever there is an important change in your condition or treatment.
You may need to update it when:
Your inhaler changes
Your medication changes
Your symptoms change
You experience an asthma attack
You identify new triggers
Your asthma control deteriorates
Your healthcare professional changes your treatment plan
NHS guidance recommends at least annual asthma check-ups, while Asthma + Lung UK advises taking your action plan to appointments so it can be kept up to date.
Always replace outdated instructions when your treatment changes.
Preparing before your appointment can make the review more useful.
Consider taking:
Your current inhalers
Your asthma action plan
A list of your medicines
Notes about recent symptoms
Information about recent asthma attacks
Details of possible triggers
Peak-flow records, if you have been advised to monitor peak flow
Questions about your treatment
You can also make notes about when symptoms occur.
For example:
“I have been waking with coughing three nights a week.”
Specific information can help your healthcare professional assess your asthma control more effectively.
Once your plan is completed, keep it somewhere you can access quickly.
You could:
Keep a printed copy with your medicines
Save a digital copy on your phone
Keep a copy at home
Share it with a family member or carer
Take it to asthma appointments
Asthma + Lung UK recommends keeping the plan somewhere accessible and sharing it with people who may need to help you during an asthma attack.
If your asthma affects your child, consider sharing the plan with their school, nursery, sports club or other appropriate carers.
Having a plan is useful, but it only works if you understand and use it correctly.
Some people rely on memory rather than keeping written instructions.
Ask your GP or asthma nurse for a personalised action plan if you do not have one.
Asthma treatment varies between individuals.
Do not use another person’s inhaler instructions as your own action plan.
An outdated plan may contain incorrect medication or dosage information.
Review your plan whenever your treatment changes.
A gradual increase in coughing, wheezing or breathlessness can indicate worsening asthma.
Follow the instructions in your action plan rather than waiting until symptoms become severe.
Even when you have the correct medicine, incorrect inhaler technique can affect how effectively the medicine reaches your lungs.
Ask your GP, asthma nurse or pharmacist to check your technique.
During an asthma emergency, you do not want to search through old paperwork.
Keep your plan somewhere easy to access and consider storing a digital copy.
An asthma review and an asthma action plan are closely connected but serve different purposes.
| Asthma review | Asthma action plan |
|---|---|
| Appointment with a healthcare professional | Written personalised instructions |
| Reviews your asthma control | Explains what actions to take |
| Checks medicines and treatment | Records your treatment instructions |
| Can include inhaler technique checks | Helps you manage symptoms between appointments |
| Can identify problems with control | Explains what to do if symptoms worsen |
| Can lead to treatment changes | Provides emergency guidance |
The review is the opportunity to assess your asthma; the action plan gives you a practical guide for managing it afterwards.
Your action plan should clearly explain when you need emergency help.
Call 999 if you are having a severe asthma attack or your action plan tells you to call emergency services.
Do not delay emergency care because you are waiting for symptoms to improve.
If you are unsure whether your symptoms are becoming an emergency, seek urgent medical advice rather than relying solely on an online article.
For non-emergency concerns about your asthma, contact your GP, asthma nurse or NHS service for appropriate advice.
Breathing difficulties can be frightening, and anxiety can sometimes occur alongside asthma symptoms.
However, it is important not to assume that breathlessness is caused by anxiety when you have asthma.
If you regularly experience anxiety alongside physical symptoms, discuss this with your healthcare professional.
You may also find our guide on the early signs of anxiety useful for understanding common anxiety symptoms.
Similarly, our guide on anxiety vs stress and how they differ explains how these experiences can overlap while remaining distinct.
Living with a long-term condition can sometimes affect your emotional wellbeing.
Worrying about asthma symptoms, avoiding certain activities or experiencing an asthma attack can be stressful.
If you are struggling emotionally, it is important to talk to a healthcare professional rather than dealing with it alone.
You can also explore our wider UK mental health guide for information about mental wellbeing and available support.
If you experience intense fear or panic alongside breathing difficulties, our guide on how to stop a panic attack may provide additional general information. However, never assume severe breathing difficulty is simply a panic attack if you have asthma.
Night-time asthma symptoms can be an important sign that your asthma may not be adequately controlled.
Tell your GP or asthma nurse if you:
Wake up coughing
Wake with wheezing
Wake feeling short of breath
Regularly need your reliever at night
Avoid sleeping because you are worried about symptoms
Do not simply accept disrupted sleep as an unavoidable part of having asthma.
Your healthcare professional can review your symptoms, medicines, inhaler technique and overall asthma control.
Your asthma action plan should remain the foundation of your asthma management, but lifestyle and environmental factors may also matter.
Depending on your individual circumstances, your healthcare professional may discuss:
Avoiding known triggers
Reducing exposure to smoke
Managing allergies
Staying physically active within your capabilities
Maintaining a healthy weight
Managing respiratory infections appropriately
Taking prescribed medicines consistently
Using inhalers correctly
If you are working on weight management, you may also find our guide on how many calories you should eat to lose weight useful.
Remember that general lifestyle advice should not replace prescribed asthma treatment.
An asthma action plan is not only useful for the person with asthma.
Family members, partners and carers can benefit from knowing:
Where the action plan is kept
What the person’s usual symptoms are
What worsening symptoms look like
Where their inhalers are kept
What emergency steps the plan recommends
When emergency help should be called
This can be particularly important for children and people who may struggle to communicate during a severe asthma attack.
Asthma + Lung UK recommends sharing your plan with people around you so they understand what to do if you have an asthma attack.
An asthma action plan provides personalised instructions for managing asthma when you are well, when symptoms become worse and during an asthma attack. It helps you know what action to take at each stage.
Yes. Your GP, asthma nurse or another appropriate healthcare professional can work with you to create or update a personalised asthma action plan.
You should review it regularly, including during your asthma reviews, and whenever your symptoms, medicines or treatment plan change. NHS recommends asthma check-ups at least once a year.
A personalised action plan is an important part of asthma self-management. Asthma + Lung UK states that people being treated for asthma should have a personalised asthma action plan.
This depends on your prescribed treatment. Your plan may include instructions for an AIR inhaler, MART inhaler or separate preventer and reliever inhalers.
AIR means anti-inflammatory reliever, while MART means maintenance and reliever therapy. They are different treatment approaches and require different instructions, so your action plan should match the treatment prescribed for you.
Yes. Keeping a digital copy can make your plan easier to access. You can also keep a printed copy with your medicines.
Sharing your plan with trusted family members, carers or other appropriate people can help them understand what to do if you have an asthma attack.
You can download an asthma action plan template from reputable asthma organisations, but you should complete it with your GP, asthma nurse or another healthcare professional so the instructions are personalised to your treatment.
Yes. Discuss your known triggers with your healthcare professional so they can be included where appropriate.
It may be included if your healthcare professional recommends peak-flow monitoring. Not everyone with asthma needs to monitor peak flow.
Contact your GP, asthma nurse or healthcare professional for an updated plan, particularly if your medicines or treatment have changed.
Ask your GP, asthma nurse or healthcare professional for a replacement and ensure the new version reflects your current treatment.
Yes. Children and young people with asthma can have personalised asthma action plans. NHS England highlights personalised asthma action plans as an important part of supporting children and young people with asthma.
Yes. Taking your plan to appointments allows your healthcare professional to check that the information remains accurate and up to date.
Ask your GP, asthma nurse or pharmacist to demonstrate the correct technique. Your inhaler technique should also be reviewed as part of your asthma care.
An action plan cannot guarantee that you will never have an asthma attack, but it can help you recognise worsening symptoms and take appropriate action earlier. Asthma + Lung UK states that action plans can help people manage asthma and lower the risk of asthma attacks.
Call 999 if you are experiencing a severe asthma attack or your personalised action plan tells you to call emergency services. Follow your emergency instructions and do not delay urgent care.
An asthma action plan gives you a practical roadmap for managing asthma in everyday life and responding when symptoms become worse.
The most useful plan is personalised to your medicines, symptoms, triggers and asthma control. It should clearly explain what to do when you are well, what to do when symptoms worsen and what emergency action to take.
If you do not currently have an asthma action plan, speak to your GP, asthma nurse or another healthcare professional involved in your asthma care. Take your inhalers and any existing records to the appointment, ask questions and make sure you understand every section of the plan.
Once completed, keep the plan somewhere accessible, save a digital copy if possible and take it to future asthma reviews so it can be updated when necessary.
For more health and wellbeing information, explore the HealthCresto blog.
Medical disclaimer: This article is intended for general health information and does not replace personalised medical advice, diagnosis or treatment from a GP, asthma nurse, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional. Asthma treatment and inhaler instructions vary between individuals. Always follow your prescribed asthma action plan and seek urgent medical help for severe or rapidly worsening symptoms.