Asthma First Aid
What is an asthma attack?
People with asthma have extra-sensitive airways. Triggers may cause the airways to swell and narrow, causing wheezing, coughing, tightness in the chest and difficulty breathing.
How to assess an attack
Asthma emergencies can and do occur at any time. Asthma attacks can take anything from a few minutes to a few days to develop. Some people will wheeze, cough or have difficulty talking. Babies may be restless or resist feeding. People will often go through stages during an attack, see below.
- Cough
- Soft wheeze
- Minor difficulty breathing
- No difficulty speaking in sentences
- Persistent cough
- Loud wheeze
- Obvious difficulty breathing
- Able to speak in short sentences only
Severe Attack - Dial 000 for an ambulance and follow First Aid Plan
- Very distressed and anxious
- Gasping for breath
- Pale and sweaty
- May have blue lips
- Unable to speak more than a few words in one breath
If a person has an asthma attack, follow the Asthma First Aid Plan. If you assess an attack as severe, or if in any doubt, call an ambulance (Dial 000) whilst following the Asthma First Aid Plan.
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Asthma First Aid Plan - NACA guidleines
| Step 1 |
Sit the person upright and give reassurance.
Do not leave the person alone. |
| Step 2 |
Without delay give 4 separate puffs of a reliever (Airomir, Asmol, Epaq or Ventolin)*.
The medication is best given one puff at a time via a spacer device**.
Ask the person to take 4 breaths from the spacer after each puff of medication. |
| Step 3 |
Wait 4 minutes. If little or no improvement, repeat steps 2 and 3. |
| Step 4 |
If there is still little or no improvement, call an ambulance (Dial 000).
Continuously repeat steps 2 and 3 while waiting for the ambulance. |
* A Bricanyl Turbohaler may be used in first aid treatment if a puffer and spacer are unavailable.
** If a spacer is not available, simply use the puffer on its own.
What if this is the first attack of asthma?
If someone collapses and appears to have difficulty breathing, CALL AN AMBULANCE IMMEDIATELY, whether or not the person is know to have asthma.
Give 4 puffs of a Reliever and repeat if no improvement. Keep giving 4 puffs every 4 minutes until the ambulance arrives.
No harm is likely to result from giving a Reliever to someone who does not have asthma.
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