Is asthma attacks an emergency?
A severe asthma attack is a medical emergency. It becomes one when your rescue inhaler no longer helps, you cannot speak in full sentences, your lips or fingernails turn blue or gray, or you are drowsy or confused. Call 911 for those signs; milder flare-ups that ease with your inhaler usually are not emergencies.
The Short Answer: Sometimes Yes
Not every asthma flare is an emergency, but a severe attack absolutely is. Asthma narrows and inflames the airways, and when that narrowing outpaces your quick-relief medicine, oxygen levels can fall fast. The deciding factor is not that you have symptoms, but whether they respond to treatment and how hard you are working to breathe.
Red Flags That Make It an Emergency
Treat an asthma attack as an emergency and get to an ER if you have any of the following:
- Your rescue inhaler is not enough. Albuterol should ease symptoms within minutes. If it does not help, the relief wears off within an hour or two, or you need it over and over, your airways are not responding.
- You cannot speak in full sentences. Pausing to breathe every few words signals significant airway narrowing.
- Retractions. The skin pulls in between the ribs or at the base of the neck with each breath.
- Very fast or labored breathing that is not settling.
- A peak flow reading well below your personal best.
- A chest that suddenly goes quiet because too little air is moving to make a wheeze.
Call 911 Immediately For
- Blue or gray lips or fingernails (a sign of dangerously low oxygen)
- Being unable to speak more than a few words without gasping
- Drowsiness, confusion, or trouble staying awake
- Severe breathlessness where you cannot walk or talk
If breathing is this severe, do not drive yourself. Call 911 so treatment can start on the way.
When It Is Usually Not an Emergency
A mild flare that clears quickly with your rescue inhaler, lets you speak in full sentences, and returns your breathing to normal is generally not an emergency. You can follow your asthma action plan and check in with your regular doctor. When symptoms are severe, keep coming back, or you are simply unsure, err toward the ER.
For a complete guide, see our asthma attacks page. Bellaire ER is open 24/7 at 5302 Bellaire Blvd; walk in any time or call (713) 660-0001.