TABLE 3.

Differences in symptom perception and response between teens with controlled vs. uncontrolled asthma

	Controlled Asthma	Uncontrolled asthma
Teen	T08: Every symptom is serious—you need to do something about it. … you never want to wait—you gotta take your albuterol.	T15: So when I get the chest pain, I breathe in some cold air, … and I’ll use a cold washcloth. I’ll drink some water when my chest tightens… [and] wait. Then if I start to cough, I’ll slow down my breathing. …Then if I start wheezing I’ll take a shower and sit in the steam, and relax. Then I’ll take my inhaler. … I usually try and wait it out. … Cause if I take it right away, then I’ll always rely on it. But if I wait it out … then I feel like my lungs get like tougher or something.
	T02: Asthma is like, serious… I make sure that I notice my asthma symptoms early before it gets really bad, and when I do have asthma symptoms I make sure I take my Albuterol asthma pump.	T05: You have to suck this up and try and get through. I have tried to grow some sort of tolerance to [symptoms]…. I think that if you’re able to work out everything without taking any medication that is a positive thing…using that pump you become dependent on it…. I just think that if, I think that if I’m less dependent on it, I’ll be able to cope more—it’s like wow, these symptoms are way less, I notice this a lot less, and I need to take it less. Progressively doing that you get used to [symptoms]….
Parent	P08: I believe that all the symptoms are serious, because wheezing is showing you like, okay something’s starting to act up let’s get control of that now.	P15: I really think that a lot of it is mind control…sometimes you’re just out of breath and it’s ok. I say to him, if you can take a deep breath in through your nose and slowly let it out through your mouth and you feel like you’re getting what you need for oxygen, you’re ok. If a person’s having a hard time breathing, they’re leaning forward, and gasping out of their mouth. [Don’t] automatically go for your inhaler…albuterol is very habit forming.
	P02: She’s really on top of it… she always has it with her in case … You have to take care of yourself…. you have to make sure you see the signs before it gets worse.	P05: He was saying he felt like he might pass out, and I could see him struggling…the muscles in the neck and the chest straining on breathing And he was grabbing his chest like this and rocking, at the same time even though he was that severe—I told him, I can take you [to the hospital] but I don’t know what they’re going to do for you…. I don’t know why your chest is hurting ….I’m thinking it’s going to be a wasted effort to go….sometimes, if you feel something and you focus on it, it seems like it’s bigger than what it is.