Every person living with asthma should have an Asthma Action Plan, regardless of age or severity.

This includes:

• children, teens, and adults and older adults
• people with mild, moderate or severe asthma
• people with controlled or uncontrolled asthma
• People recently diagnosed to those who’ve been living with asthma for years

Using an Asthma Action Plan helps you take control of your asthma and respond quickly when symptoms change.

It can help you:

• reduce your risk of asthma attacks and hospital visits
• help imporve your asthma control and your overall quality of life
• prevent symptoms from getting worse
• know when to increase medication or seek help
• feel more confident managing your asthma day to day

People who use an Asthma Action Plan are better prepared and often experience better asthma control and better health outcomes.

Your Asthma Action Plan works best when it is kept up to date and used regularly.

Step 1: Print your plan

• Print a copy of your Asthma Action Plan and bring it with you to your next asthma healthcare appointment.

Step 2: Complete it with your healthcare provider

• Work with your doctor, nurse, or asthma educator to fill in your:
  • daily medications
  • symptom zones
  • emergency instructions
  • personalized triggers and notes

Step 3: Use it in your daily life

Your plan should guide your everyday asthma management.

Helpful tips:

• Review your plan at least once a month
• Keep it somewhere visible and easy to access
• Keep a copy of it on your phone, in your car or bag
• Use it as soon as your symptoms change, even if they are mild
• Make sure family members or caregivers know where it is and how to use it

Your plan is divided into three colour-coded zones that help you understand how well your asthma is controlled and what actions to take.

🟢 Green Zone  

What this means: your asthma is well controlled.

How you may feel:

• • Breathing is easy
  • No coughing, wheezing, or chest tightness
  • You can do your normal activities without symptoms

What to do:

• • Continue taking your daily asthma medication as prescribed
  • Follow your regular routine
  • Keep using your plan to stay on track

🟡 Yellow Zone

What this means: Your asthma is getting worse or your symptoms are starting to increase.

How you may feel:

• • Coughing, wheezing, or shortness of breath
  • Symptoms during activity or at night
  • Increased use of your reliever inhaler

What to do:

• • Follow the instructions in your plan right away
  • Use your rescue medication as advised in your plan  
  • You may need to adjust your medication as directed by your healthcare provider
  • Monitor your symptoms closely
  • Contact your healthcare provider if symptoms do not improve

🔴 Red Zone

What this means: This is a medical emergency. You’re having an asthma attack.

How you may feel:

• • Severe shortness of breath
  • Trouble speaking in full sentences
  • Reliever medication is not helping or not lasting

What to do:

• • Follow your emergency instructions immediately
  • Seek urgent medical care or call emergency services
  • Use your medication as directed in your plan
  • Following our asthma attack, talk to your healthcare provider and update your Asthma Action Plan

A peak flow reading is a quick way to measure how fast you can blow air out of your lungs, known as your peak expiratory flow (PEF), and it’s commonly used to monitor asthma.

Using a small handheld device called a peak flow meter, you take a deep breath and blow out as hard and fast as possible, recording your best result. This number is then compared to your personal best to understand how well your asthma is controlled:

• Green Zone: Good – Your Peak Flow is between 80% and 100% of your personal best
• Yellow Zone: Caution – Your Peak Flow is between 60% and 80% of your personal best
• Red Zone: Danger – Your Peak Flow has fallen below 60% of your personal best.

Tracking peak flow over time can help detect early signs that your asthma is worsening, sometimes even before severe symptoms appear.

Note: Peak flow monitoring is not suitable for everyone living with asthma. Ask your healthcare provider for more information.