This calculator is for general information and education. It is not medical advice and does not replace the judgment of a doctor, nurse or pharmacist who knows the full clinical picture.
Asthma treatment aims at control: few or no symptoms, normal activities, and no flare-ups. The Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), whose recommendations are updated every year, uses four simple questions about the last four weeks to grade symptom control in adults and teenagers. This calculator applies them and adds the most important risk factor for future flare-ups.
The four questions
In the last 4 weeks, has the patient had:
- daytime asthma symptoms more than twice a week?
- any night waking due to asthma?
- a need for a reliever (rescue inhaler) more than twice a week, not counting use before exercise?
- any limitation of activity due to asthma?
| Yes answers | Control level |
|---|---|
| 0 | well controlled |
| 1 to 2 | partly controlled |
| 3 to 4 | uncontrolled |
Example
Someone who has symptoms on most days and uses a blue reliever three or four times a week, but sleeps well and keeps active, answers yes twice: partly controlled asthma.
Symptoms are not the whole story
GINA assesses future risk separately. Having had at least one severe flare-up in the last year (one that needed oral steroids, an emergency visit or a hospital stay) is the strongest predictor of the next one. Other risk factors include uncontrolled symptoms, not using an inhaled corticosteroid, poor inhaler technique, smoking, obesity, low lung function and frequent reliever use (three or more canisters a year).
What to do with the result
- Well controlled: keep the treatment, and review it at least once a year.
- Partly or uncontrolled: before stepping up treatment, check inhaler technique, adherence, triggers (allergens, smoke, reflux) and whether symptoms really come from asthma.
- Every patient should have a written asthma action plan saying what to do when symptoms get worse.
Current GINA guidance advises against treating adults and teenagers with a reliever alone; a low-dose inhaled corticosteroid, often combined with formoterol, reduces severe flare-ups.
Seek help urgently
Call emergency services for breathlessness that prevents speaking in sentences, blue lips, or a reliever that brings little or no relief.