Asthma Treatment in Atlanta, Georgia
Offering Asthma Treatment in the Atlanta Area by Board-Certified Allergists
Asthma can cause coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, shortness of breath, or trouble keeping up with normal activities. Allergies and asthma often overlap, and pollen, dust mites, mold, or pet dander may trigger symptoms in some people. The Center for Allergy & Asthma of Georgia provides asthma testing and personalized asthma treatment for children and adults across Metro Atlanta and surrounding Georgia communities.
Key Takeaways
- Asthma symptoms may come and go or worsen at night, during exercise, with illness, or around certain triggers.
- Allergies are a common asthma trigger. An allergist can evaluate breathing symptoms and determine whether allergy testing should be part of your asthma evaluation.
- Care may include several approaches, including quick-relief medicine, controller medicine, trigger management, allergy treatment, or biologics for certain patients.
- Severe breathing trouble is an emergency. Call 911 when symptoms are severe or prescribed rescue medicine is not helping.
Could Your Symptoms Be Asthma?
Asthma does not look the same for everyone. Some people wheeze, while others mainly cough, feel chest pressure, become short of breath, or wake at night with breathing symptoms. Symptoms may also appear during exercise, respiratory infections, or exposure to smoke, cold air, pollen, dust mites, mold, or pets.
Recurring symptoms do not automatically mean you have asthma. Chronic cough, vocal cord problems, infections, and other conditions can cause similar concerns. An evaluation can help determine the likely cause.
Why See an Allergist for Asthma Treatment
Allergists are physicians with advanced training in allergy, asthma, and immunology. They can diagnose asthma, assess whether allergens are contributing to symptoms, interpret allergy test results alongside your medical history, and build a plan that addresses both conditions.
This combined approach may be especially helpful when symptoms worsen during Georgia pollen seasons or around dust mites, mold, or pets. For children with allergic rhinitis, early allergy care can help control symptoms. Research suggests allergen immunotherapy may reduce the chance of developing asthma in some children, but it cannot guarantee prevention and is not appropriate for every child.
How Do Doctors Test for Asthma?
An asthma doctor will ask when symptoms happen, what makes them better or worse, whether they interrupt sleep or activity, and which medicines you have tried.
Testing may include:
Breathing Test
Spirometry With Bronchodilator Testing
Measures how much air you can blow out and how quickly. The test may be repeated after you inhale medicine that opens the airways to see whether your lung function improves.
Learn more about pulmonary testingTrigger Evaluation
Allergy Testing
Looks for possible allergic triggers when your history suggests they may be involved.
Learn more about allergy testingTesting asthma in young children: Young children may not be able to complete standard spirometry. Their evaluation may rely more on symptom patterns, medical history, and response to treatment.
What Happens at an Asthma Appointment?
Your first visit usually begins with a review of your symptoms, health history, previous diagnoses, and current medicines. Your clinician may listen to your breathing, perform breathing tests when appropriate, and discuss possible triggers.
Bring:
- Your inhalers or a complete medicine list
- Previous breathing-test or allergy-test results
- Notes about when symptoms happen
- Information about nighttime coughing, exercise limits, or missed school or work
Do not stop a prescribed asthma or allergy medicine unless the scheduling team or your clinician gives you specific instructions.
What Asthma Treatment Options May Help?
The right plan depends on your age, symptoms, test results, triggers, flare-up risk, and response to past care.
| Treatment option | What it may do |
|---|---|
| Quick-relief medicine | Opens the airways during symptoms or a flare-up |
| Inhaled controller medicine | Reduces airway inflammation and helps prevent symptoms |
| Combination inhalers | Pair an anti-inflammatory medicine with a longer-acting medicine that helps keep airways open |
| Leukotriene modifiers | Help reduce inflammation and airway tightening in certain patients |
| Oral corticosteroids | May be used for a short time during a significant flare-up |
| Biologic medicine | Targets specific inflammation in some patients with difficult-to-control asthma |
Medication safety: Do not stop, start, or change prescribed medicine without guidance from the clinician managing your care.
Could Biologics Be an Option?
Biologic treatments may be considered as add-on care when asthma remains difficult to control with standard treatment. Eligibility can depend on asthma severity, flare-up history, current medicines, test results, and the type of inflammation involved. Biologics are not the right first step for every patient.
When Allergies and Asthma Overlap
Allergic asthma occurs when allergens such as pollen, dust mites, mold, or pet dander trigger airway symptoms. If your breathing gets worse during Georgia pollen seasons or around indoor allergens, your evaluation may include allergy testing.
Treatment may include reducing exposure to confirmed triggers, asthma medicine, and, for some patients, allergy shots, also called allergen immunotherapy. Allergy shots can help your body become less sensitive to specific allergens and may improve symptoms in selected patients with allergic asthma. A positive allergy test alone does not prove that an allergen is causing asthma symptoms. Results must be considered with your history and real-world exposures.
What Does Better Asthma Control Look Like?
A treatment plan should be reviewed over time. Signs of improving control may include:
- Fewer daytime or nighttime symptoms
- Less need for quick-relief medicine
- Fewer flare-ups
- Better sleep and activity tolerance
- Fewer missed school or work days
- Helps keep you from having to go to the ER or urgent care
Long-term asthma management may also include checking inhaler technique, reducing confirmed triggers, monitoring symptoms, and creating a written asthma action plan. An action plan explains which medicines to use, how to recognize worsening symptoms, and when to seek urgent care.
Explore Different Types of Asthma
Emergency Breathing Symptoms
Call 911 for Severe Breathing Trouble
Call 911 if breathing is still very hard, prescribed rescue medicine is not relieving symptoms, the lips or skin look blue, or the person becomes drowsy or confused. Do not wait for a routine appointment.
Build a More Complete Asthma Care Plan
Our physicians evaluate breathing symptoms, possible allergic triggers, treatment response, and the effect asthma may be having on daily life.
Medically reviewed by John Vickery, M.D.
With nine convenient office locations, we proudly provide allergy, asthma, ENT, and other medical care for patients in Carrollton, Villa Rica, Newnan, Smyrna/Vinings, Hiram, Peachtree City / Fayetteville, Acworth / Kennesaw, Griffin, and Douglasville, Georgia.
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