Tips that we've found helpful:
a) have a clear ACTION PLAN from your physician. That physician may need, especially initially, be a specialist in allergy/pulmonology. Finding out how to avoid triggers is KEY.
Indeed. My DW didn't even know she could experience asthma until she was nearly 30 years old and got her first dog. Understanding triggers is essential.
b) along with avoiding triggers... the single BIGGEST way to do that is to undertake whatever means necessary to avoid respiratory ILLNESSES. We are fanatics about handwashing-- our house rule is that it is the first thing you do after you empty your hands when you come into the house.
In avoiding respiratory illnesses, specifically upper respiratory infections (which are usually the first trigger to other problems), I cannot recommend a neti pot highly enough. I would typically experience 3-4 painfully severe sinus infections a year, and I began using one when I had a particular one that failed to respond to antibiotics. The neti pot helped me recover fairly quickly, and I haven't had a significant infection since.
For obvious reasons, I wouldn't recommend it to the little ones.
On another note... don't despair. Children outgrowing asthma is common, as the airways expand and become less likely to be blocked by inflammation. I experienced it myself... I was the kid who was regularly rushed to the ER at midnight, and my last attack was age 5. The military will accept applicants with an asthma history prior to age 13.
