How to Identify an Asthma Emergency

Most asthma attacks start out slowly (over hours or days), building gradually before symptoms reach emergency status. But sometimes sudden attacks occur. Asthma symptoms can become life threatening, requiring immediate medical attention. Contact your doctor or go directly to the emergency department of the nearest hospital if you experience:

  • Coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, or tightness in the chest that does not respond to inhaled or oral medications
  • Difficulty talking
  • Rapid or shallow breathing
  • Flared and enlarged nostrils
  • Tightly-pulled skin in the neck area and/or around the rib cage with each breath
  • A gray, dusky, or bluish skin color, beginning around the mouth or under the fingernails
  • A peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) that falls 50 percent below your target PEFR or that falls into the danger zone as determined by your physician

Work with your doctor to develop a personalized asthma management plan that explains what to do when asthma symptoms worsen and learn to recognize the early signs of an attack. The sooner medications are started, the easier it is to reverse an episode.