This post is part of a paid sponsorship by Teva Pharmaceuticals. All opinions are my own.
When I turned 18, my school started a soccer team as a new sport for students to try out. I’ve always loved soccer, so I decided to join the team. After our first practice, I discovered that I was having trouble breathing and decided to speak with my doctor. I didn’t realize it, but I had developed asthma later in life and would need to seek treatment for it if I wanted to continue to play.
Since then I’m still learning to manage my asthma and still have attacks from time to time. I sometimes have trouble when I go to the gym, and if I’m experiencing an attack, people will come check to make sure I’m okay. To prevent this, I make sure to use my inhaler before and after class to ensure I continue to breathe without issue. 
When my asthma is well-controlled, being the boss of it allows me to live a full life and enjoy all sorts of great activities. This year, I was able to go for a fantastic bike ride with my husband while we were on a cruise to the Bahamas. I even went snorkeling for the first time. I was nervous at first, but it ended up being a ton of fun. It was a beautiful area to explore as well as excellent exercise.
Did you know that, according to the CDC, there are nearly nine million adults in the United States that aren’t controlling their asthma? As someone who didn’t realize that they had asthma until they reached adulthood, I can understand. Some of these people may be suffering from a more severe form of the disease called severe eosinophilic asthma or S.E.A.
There is a new national education program that wants to help raise awareness of severe eosinophilic asthma (S.E.A.) and allow you to “Be the Boss of Your Asthma.” You can access www.BeTheBossofYourAsthma.com for a variety of resources, including an asthma fact sheet and a checklist you can bring to your doctor that may help identify asthma problems.
Asthma doesn’t have to change the way you live your life, and it’s important to talk to your doctor to discover if you have some of the uncontrolled symptoms.
Visit www.BeTheBossofYourAsthma.com to learn more.
Be the Boss of Your Asthma is sponsored by Teva Pharmaceuticals and was shaped by several leading respiratory patient advocacy organizations in addition to AAN and AAFA, including the Association of Asthma Educators, the Severe Asthma Foundation and the Global Allergy and Asthma Patients Platform.
