It's important for people with asthma to know what their triggers are.

That's coming from Dr. Allan Becker, a consultant allergist at Winnipeg's Children's Hospital and a University of Manitoba professor in the section of allergy and clinical immunology, department of pediatrics and child health.

He says it's important for people with asthma or parents of children with it to be well-read on the subject and proactive in treatment.

"People need to anticipate it, and they need to use appropriate medications in a preventative way so that they don't run into those problems. Asthma can be controlled."

Yesterday was World Asthma Day.

Dr. Becker says spring and fall can be particularly bad for asthma, for a variety of reasons. He says airborne allergens, like mold and snow mold, are major triggers for asthma problems and even hay fever, especially in the prairies.

"Seventy-five per cent of individuals with asthma have underlying allergy. The more severe the asthma, the more probable it is there's underlying allergy."

Dr. Becker says (for people with asthma) being assessed by a well-trained allergist is important so you can anticipate when you may have more problems.