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Asthma doctor online for action plans and flare-ups

Waking at 3am with a tight chest is a sign your asthma needs another look. Book a phone or video asthma review and a Prime Medic GP will go over your symptoms and your written plan. Time off work, or a specialist, can be part of that conversation

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About Respiratory & Infectious

Educational Hub for Viral, respiratory, and infectious diseases center, explaining self-care methods and the part of telehealth.

Asthma Breathing Issues Triggers Management

Important Information

Our doctors provide assessment and treatment when clinically appropriate. This service is not for emergencies.
If you are in urgent need of help, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or 000 in an emergency.

Asthma is a long-term lung condition in which the airways stay inflamed, then tighten and swell when they meet a trigger. Colds are the usual spark. For a lot of Australians, grass pollen, dust mites, bushfire smoke and cold morning air come next. Emphysema is a separate disease, mostly caused by smoking, and our COPD and emphysema page covers it. Plenty of adults haven't had their asthma looked at in years.

Waking at night to cough or wheeze

You're reaching for asthma first aid more often than you used to.

No written action plan, or one that's years old

Puffed after a single flight of stairs

An asthma attack that won't ease is a 000 call

Plan reviews and a mild flare that's already settling can be handled by phone or video. A severe attack can't. Start asthma first aid and ring an ambulance, and please don't drive yourself to hospital.

Can't finish a sentence without stopping for air. Call 000.

Blue or grey lips, drowsiness, or skin sucking in at the throat or between the ribs: call 000 now.

First aid isn't helping, or the relief wears off within a couple of hours. Call 000 or get to an emergency department.

A flare that's been building for a day or two, even though you've followed your plan, means seeing a GP face to face today.

Have your action plan and a night-waking count on the table

Put your written action plan beside the phone, even an old one. A rough tally of the nights you've woken up coughing or wheezing this fortnight tells the GP far more than "it's been bad lately".

Every asthma product you use and how often, chemist ones included

Hospital or emergency visits since your last review

Triggers you've noticed lately: smoke, a new pet, a mouldy rental.

Catch the wheeze on a short phone video if it happens before the call.

An asthma review checks whether your plan still matches your lungs

On a video or phone call, a GP can go through your symptoms and triggers and rewrite your action plan to suit how your asthma behaves now. Asthma Australia's action plan advice says adults should have theirs checked about once a year, and sooner when symptoms or medicines change. Night symptoms give the doctor the clearest picture of control.

Asthma care review: what you use now, and whether it still fits your symptoms

A medical certificate for work or study for the days a flare keeps you home, once the doctor agrees you're unfit

Hard-to-control asthma may need a respiratory specialist referral. That's your GP's call.

Spring storms can set off asthma in people who rarely wheeze

Across Victoria and much of south-east Australia, the grass pollen months of October to December are thunderstorm asthma season. The gusty stretch just before the rain is the dangerous part. Healthdirect's thunderstorm asthma page puts the risk highest for adults who are sensitive to grass pollen and get seasonal hay fever. If that sounds like you, book your review in late winter.

Storm warning on a high-pollen day: get indoors before the wind picks up and close the house.

Your updated plan comes by email, with a date for the next review

Certificates and referrals are emailed after the call, and your GP can send the updated action plan the same way. Print it for the fridge. Book another review when symptoms change, after any hospital visit, and before spring if pollen hits you hard. If breathing gets harder in the meantime, follow the danger signs on your plan.

Reviewed by: Dr Muhammad Mohsin

CEO, Founder and Chief Medical Officer, Prime Medic.

The content on this page has undergone a final expert review by Dr Muhammad Mohsin for medical accuracy. Last reviewed 03-Nov-2026 05:22:00.

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