NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln developed several initiatives designed to provide asthma patients with the most effective treatment regimens to manage their asthma. Managing asthma requires a long-term, multifaceted approach that includes pharmacologic therapy, patient education, behavior modification, avoidance of asthma triggers, and ongoing care.
What is Asthma?
Asthma is a chronic lung disease. A person with asthma has lungs that inflame and narrow their airways on a recurring basis in reaction to various environmental triggers. Different elements in the air may cause an asthmatic reaction. This reaction may be in response to substances breathed in the air.
Asthma causes the chest to tighten. Asthmatics also experience shortness of breath, coughing and wheezing. Coughing occurs primarily in the morning or during evening hours. All of these symptoms are controlled with medical intervention. Simple lifestyle changes, combined with medication and continual health care can ease the effects of living with asthma. It’s important to work with your physician. Together you can monitor and manage your symptoms and achieve a healthier lifestyle.
Managing Asthma
View our asthma video to learn strategies to control your asthma.
Lincoln’s Asthma Team
The asthma team is committed to minimizing the damaging effects that this disease has on men, women and children. Individualized medical care is tailored to each patient’s specific needs. A detailed medical evaluation is taken to help each patient manage their symptoms and reactions to an impending asthma attack. The goal is to reduce the symptoms that triggers a reaction and ensures a better quality of life for our patients.
Our staff helps each patient learn to identify and track the symptoms that cause them to have an asthmatic reaction. The optimal goal is to avoid the triggers that cause an attack and to use medications that help minimize these symptoms. Some patients may be required to take more than one medication to improve their symptoms.
The Hospital has launched an aggressive initiative that focuses on outreach, prevention, education, and treatment of asthma. Each patient receives an asthma action plan which defines the treatment regimen, including emergency phone number to call in case of needed assistance. For patients requiring advanced services, home visits are made.
Adult and pediatric patients experiencing an asthma episode receive immediate treatment in the Emergency Department.