May is asthma awareness month and it's one of the underlying health conditions which may cause complications with COVID-19. This year, it's more important than ever for asthma sufferers to know about differentiating symptoms from regular seasonal allergies and what to do if you think you've been exposed to, or may have symptoms of, the coronavirus.

"There's no direct correlation or evidence at this time to show that patients with asthma have a higher incidence of contracting coronavirus however if they do in fact get it, they do substantially, increase their risk of complications," said Brandi Ewing, the director of Respiratory Services at St. Peters Health Partners.

Ewing says asthma suffers need to take note of their symptoms to decide whether it's seasonal allergies or possibly COVID-19.

"One of the big differences between normal asthma worsening symptoms and coronavirus is if you've had that fever," said Ewing. "A lot of times with seasonal allergies-- asthma -- you'll get sneezing, watery eyes and things like that, you don't get that with coronavirus, but you do get coughing, which is in asthma and coronavirus, so sometimes it can be a little bit hard to distinguish."

Which is why Ewing says if you're asthmatic and have a fever, or have come into contact with someone who has coronavirus, you should immediately get in touch with your health care provider, to try to decide the best course of action to prevent your symptoms from getting worse and she recommends doing so without leaving your house.

"There's an awful lot of health care providers who are providing Telehealth visits right now and sometimes it's either low co-pay or in some instances no co-pay at all, so definitely taking advantage of that rather than waiting and it's a little too late and you've gotten substantially worse," Ewing said.

Ewing says initially health care providers were concerned about an inhaler shortage because metered-dose inhalers are being used for some COVID-19 patients rather than nebulizer treatments which can increase the risk of the virus becoming airborne, but now makers have ramped up production. She says not every COVID-19 patient needs an inhaler, but it can help.

"One of the most popular medications used for asthma is Albuterol, it's a bronchodilator, so if you have some type of muscle constriction within your lungs, that type of medication will help relax those muscles so it's easier to breathe," Ewing said. "Sometimes we have had some patients with coronavirus who have that type of muscle constriction."

Ewing says more than ever it's important for asthma sufferers to follow CDC guidelines especially for social distancing, hand washing, and face-covering in public. She also says, if you normally see a specialist, many of them are also providing telehealth visits, so just give your doctor's office a call to find out the best way to get an appointment if you're concerned about going into the office.