There is a recognized methodology in how to assess the severity of your asthma. You will need the help of your healthcare professional. In brief, there are national guidelines published by the NIH (National Institutes of Health) in Washington, D.C. in determining how to score your severity of asthma. This scoring mechanism is based on a combination of two main factors: (1) your symptoms such as time of cough and number of coughs and (2) your lung function tests (spirometry). This score index consists of: intermittent asthma, mild persistent asthma, moderate persistent asthma and severe persistent asthma. Each category requires different types and doses of asthma medication.