National Asthma Week kit

Use the link below to access a range of social media assets and a poster. Messages can be adapted to suit your audience and please remember to tag the National Asthma Council so we can like and share your posts.

Access National Asthma Week promotional materials.

What is asthma?  

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory condition and one of the most prevalent chronic diseases in Australia. Asthma is caused by inflammation and tightening of the thin muscle around the airways which makes it harder to breathe. 

During an asthma flare-up, people commonly experience symptoms such as wheezing, chest tightness, shortness of breath or coughing.  

When someone is experiencing these asthma symptoms, the airways become inflamed:  

• Airways tighten up.
  Inside the wall of each airway there is a thin layer of muscle. When it contracts, it makes the airway narrower. Reliever medicines work by relaxing these muscles in the airways. 

• Airways thicken up.
  The lining of the tubes gets swollen and inflamed, leaving less space to breathe through. Preventer medicines work by reducing the inflammation that causes the swelling. 

• Airways fill up.
  The inside of the tubes can get blocked by mucus. Preventer medicines reduce mucus.  

All these can happen at the same time.

Asthma guidelines have changed: treat the inflammation, not just the symptoms.  

The National Asthma Council’s Australian Asthma Handbook guidelines now recommend anti-inflammatory reliever (AIR) only therapy for people with mild asthma, rather than relying on a blue puffer alone.  

Anti-inflammatory relievers – a different type of quick-relief medicine – help treat the underlying inflammation that causes asthma while also relieving symptoms.   

Maintenance-and-reliever therapy (MART) is recommended for patients who need regular maintenance treatment. This means the patient uses their MART inhaler daily or twice-daily (as directed by their doctor) as a preventer and takes extra doses when needed to relieve symptoms. 

Using just a blue puffer is not enough to manage your asthma

Asthma management isn’t just about relieving symptoms; it’s about treating what’s causing them. 

If you’re using your blue puffer more than 2 days a week on average, it could be a sign that your asthma isn’t well controlled. Relying only on a blue puffer, or needing it often, means you are at risk of severe asthma attacks. 

A blue puffer contains a medicine called short-acting beta2 agonist (SABA). It does not treat the underlying inflammation that causes asthma. It does not prevent symptoms or attacks. It just relieves symptoms and helps treat asthma attacks that have already started. 

Relying on a blue puffer (SABA) alone doesn’t treat the underlying airway inflammation and can increase the risk of a serious asthma flare-up that may require oral steroids or hospitalisation.  

Using 3 or more reliever canisters per year increases the risk of asthma flare-ups. Using 12 or more relievers canisters per year increases the risk of asthma-related death. 

For people with mild asthma, an anti-inflammatory reliever (AIR) is now the recommended treatment option because it helps treat the underlying inflammation while also providing symptom relief. 

National asthma facts 

• 2.8 million (1 in 9) people in Australia have asthma. 

• About 47,200 people were hospitalised with asthma in 2023–24.

• 43% of asthma hospitalisations were for children and young people aged 0-14 years old. 

• Up to 94% of patients with asthma do not use their asthma inhaler correctly. 

• Asthma was a leading cause of total disease burden in children aged 5-14 years old.  

Live better with asthma. Maintain good asthma management.

Signs of good asthma control: 

• No night-time asthma symptoms. 

• No symptoms when waking up. 

• No reliance on reliever medication.  

• No missed school or workdays.  

• No limits on daily activities.  

Asthma management tips: 

• Book an asthma review with your doctor. 

• Have an up-to-date asthma action plan. 

• Take your medications as prescribed. 

• Use your inhaler correctly. 

• Know your asthma triggers.