What is checked during the control visit?
For bronchial asthma and COPD, therapy is selected in stages: the dose and combination of drugs vary depending on the degree of disease control. This can only be assessed on repeat visits - by the frequency of symptoms, night awakenings, the need for emergency medication and spirometry data. A separate important point is checking the inhalation technique: according to various sources, a significant proportion of patients use the inhaler incorrectly, which is why the drug settles in the pharynx and not in the bronchi. The doctor asks to show how the patient does inhalation and corrects the technique - often this, and not changing the drug, solves the problem.
Primary and repeat appointment: what is the difference?
At the initial appointment, the doctor gets to know the patient: collects a detailed history, conducts a full examination, analyzes previously performed studies and builds a diagnostic hypothesis. This is the longest visit, and it is it that determines the entire further route.
A repeat appointment is shorter and solves another problem: to evaluate the results of prescribed studies, the effect of treatment and adjust therapy. You should not skip it - without control it is impossible to understand whether the assigned scheme is working.
How to prepare for your appointment
- collect the results of analyzes and studies, even old ones - dynamics are important
- write down the medications you are taking with doses
- formulate complaints: when did they start, what intensifies and what alleviates
- write down the questions you want to ask
What does the patient get as a result?
Conclusion with a diagnosis or preliminary diagnosis, examination plan, prescriptions with dosages and timing, as well as a guideline for the date of the follow-up visit. If the help of another specialist is required, the doctor gives a referral.