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Warning-sign checks

Coronavirus (COVID-19) and asthma: when to get help

Go through these in order and stop at the first one that applies. If you are reading this for someone else, answer for them.

  1. 1

    Is any of this happening now?

    Call 911

    Call emergency services for severe difficulty breathing, an inability to speak in full sentences, blue, grey, or unusually pale lips or skin, new confusion, difficulty waking, collapse, or persistent chest pain or pressure.

    Treat a severe asthma attack as an emergency, especially when quick-relief medicine is not helping.

    Do not delay emergency care while trying to arrange a COVID-19 test.

    And for anyone, someone who:

    • is struggling to breathe, gasping, choking, or cannot get words out
    Other emergency signs, for anyone
    • Someone who has chest pain, tightness or pressure lasting more than a few minutes
    • Someone who has sudden weakness or drooping on one side of the face or body, slurred speech, or sudden confusion
    • Someone who is unconscious, or cannot be woken
    • Someone who is bleeding heavily and it will not stop with firm pressure
    • Someone who has had a seizure that will not stop, or does not wake up afterwards
    • Someone who has lips or skin that look pale, blue, grey or blotchy
    • Someone who you believe has taken an overdose or swallowed something poisonous
  2. 2

    Is any of this happening?

    Be seen today

    Seek prompt medical advice if you have COVID-19 symptoms and may qualify for early antiviral treatment.

    Do not wait for symptoms to become severe, because these medicines have a limited treatment window.

    Contact a healthcare service promptly if:

    • Your breathing is getting worse rather than improving
    • Your quick-relief inhaler is needed more often than your plan allows
    • Wheezing or chest tightness keeps returning after relief medicine
    • Fever or other symptoms improve and then return
    • You have persistent breathlessness, cough, or fatigue after the infection
    • Home oxygen readings are below your advised range or are steadily falling

Every sign above is quoted from the sofidex article on Coronavirus (COVID-19) and asthma. If you are not sure, err upward — it is always reasonable to be checked.