Severe Asthma Prognosis
People with severe asthma will often be concerned about the long-term consequences of their disease and the potential for worsening of disease. Asthma is a chronic disease, with no cure. For people with mild-to-moderate disease, particularly earlier in life, asthma can improve with time or go into remission for long periods of time. Improvement of symptoms can be achieved in people with difficult-to-treat asthma. However, severe persistent disease can cause irreversible remodelling of the airways and long-term declines in lung function.
It is important that healthcare providers provide education and support to help individuals self-manage and prevent this condition from interfering with their day-to-day living. In addition, it is also useful to provide this support to their carers’ and/or family members. For more information see Self-Management Skills & Self-Management Support
Most people with debilitating and long-term conditions want to know, where possible, the prognosis for their condition. Sometimes a definitive answer is not possible, but making time to discuss possible health trajectories will:
- Provide the patient with a sense of personal control and empowerment.
- Enable the patient to put in place goals and strategies to help manage future outcomes.
- Improve the healthcare provider-patient relationship
For more information see Severe Asthma Overview & Prevalence and Burden
