Patients need to understand their asthma to be able to react appropriately. At least 30 minutes is needed by a trained asthma professional to teach asthma self-management effectively. Many patients accept symptoms and attacks unnecessarily through insufficient knowledge of their condition and treatment. In this small study, those who were educated by a trained asthma nurse had a significantly higher knowledge of their condition and management. Most of those who were educated by a trained asthma nurse had symptoms less frequently. Those who were educated by a trained asthma nurse had no time off work whereas 49% of the control group had time off work.