A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools.
An Old Spanish Proverb

Stop and think about the steps you take when deciding to buy a set of golf clubs, which mall has the best weekend sales, buying a car, or searching for that one in a million hole in the wall restaurant. . Now compare the time and efforts you spend when making health decisions. Unfortunately, many of us don’t take the time learn about the who what and when’s about health care.

“Make it Your Business” to Learn and to Ask Questions

The single, most useful thing you can do to improve your health is to get involved in your health. You don’t need to know everything about health care but you should certainly know basic information and medicine, such as:

• Know your disease; the name of your condition, how your disease affects your health, signs and symptoms of Flare-ups ***link to flare-ups, and when to call your doctor
• Be Aware about “normal” health condition as it can be useful in identifying flare-ups **link to falre-ups**.
• Learn about your medications; the name of the drug, what the drug is suppose to do, the amount you are to take, proper way to take your medications, side-effects of the drug, and what to do if you do not think your medications are working.
• Choose you health care provider i.e.; Doctors, Respiratory Therapists, Nurses, Physical Therapist, etc. carefully and if you are not satisfied with the treatment and/or care speak up and voice concerns and if need be search for someone you can trust and talk to.
• Keeping informed about health facilities in your community.
• Things to consider when choosing your child’s care facilities and school for asthmatic children and children with other breathing problems

Where do you start?

The Internet has many good resources for learning about your lung disease yet be sure that the information that you are getting is resources to help you find out your disease yet beware of “things that sound too good to be true”.