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Sahil:   When family members of people with asthma ask me that same question, I usually encourage them to immediately help the patient do the following 3 things:   1- Make an appointment to see their physician 2- Verify that all prescribed medicatons and treatments are being used 3- Locate a Certified Asthma Educator   These 3 things will pave the way for making sure asthma is being managed as well as posible. In the trip to the doctor, he/she can make sure that the initial diagnosis of asthma is correct and not complicated by other things and determie if a visit with a specialist is in order. It is important to make sure all medications and tools are being used as directed and in the correct way. If this is not being done, it can be very difficult for a doctor to determine if the medication is truly working or not. A Certified Asthma Educator can also be a wonderful resource to confirm proper medication use technique, discover community resources, work as a team with your family and provider to address things that might be impacting asthma control, and provide other asthma educational information.   Above all, remember, asthma is controllable. Asthma should not control you or your family - you should control it. There are so many wonderful medications, doctors and resources available. Living with daily asthma problems is not something anyone needs to get used to or accept as normal. There is no reason why, with the proper nurturing, that you and your spouse can't enjoy controlled asthma.   Gerri