First aid for asthma children under 12 chart

National Asthma Council Australia first aid for asthma charts are designed to be used by people with training in first aid. To follow the instructions, you will need to know how to use an asthma inhaler and how to use an adrenaline auto-injector.

Signs you are having an asthma attack

• You have increasing wheezing, cough, chest tightness or shortness of breath  
• You are waking often at night with asthma symptoms  
• You need to use your blue/grey reliever again within 3 hours

When is it an asthma emergency?

• Your symptoms get worse very quickly  
• You have severe shortness of breath, can’t speak comfortably or lips look blue  
• You get little or no relief from your reliever inhaler

Signs that someone needs first aid for an asthma attack

Signs of an asthma attack can include any of these:

• sudden shortness of breath
• difficulty breathing
• can’t talk normally
• coughing
• wheezing
• feeling of chest tightness.

What to do

Call an ambulance immediately:
Dial 000 
Say this is an asthma emergency

Not sure if it's asthma?

If a person stays conscious and their main problem seems to be breathing, follow the asthma first aid steps. Asthma reliever medicine is unlikely to harm them even if they do not have asthma.

If someone is unconscious, follow the DRSABCD steps for life support.

Severe allergic reactions - what to do

Follow the person’s Action Plan for Anaphylaxis if available. If the person has known severe allergies and seems to be having a severe allergic reaction, use their adrenaline autoinjector (e.g. EpiPen, Anapen) before giving asthma reliever medicine.  

If you are ever unsure about what to do call an ambulance immediately (dial 000)

For more information please visit asthma first aid.

Health professionals can order free hardcopies from by emailing [email protected].