Primary Care

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Asthma and respiratory care in Bakersfield — handled at primary care.

Asthma, COPD, a cough that will not clear, and Valley fever testing are managed here, in the same office that handles your blood pressure and your labs. Bakersfield air makes breathing harder than it needs to be. That is the reason this page exists.

Request an appointment Call (661) 735-1710

Why breathing is harder here.

Bakersfield sits in the San Joaquin Valley Air Basin, which is regulated by the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. The valley’s shape traps what gets into it — dust, smoke, vehicle exhaust, agricultural and industrial emissions — and holds it in place.

The American Lung Association’s 2026 “State of the Air” report ranks the Bakersfield-Delano metro area first among U.S. metro areas for year-round particle pollution. The same report places the metro area third in the country for both short-term particle pollution and ozone, and gives Kern County failing grades for both ozone and particle pollution. The metro area the report measures covers all of Kern County, not just the city.

Air quality here has been improving — the 2026 report notes Bakersfield’s lowest annual particle pollution levels recorded so far — but particle pollution is still high enough to affect people with asthma. That is the practical read: better than it was, still enough to put someone in urgent care on a bad week.

The scale is not small. The American Lung Association estimates that roughly 70,000 people across Kern County — about 53,000 adults and about 18,000 children — are living with asthma. Those are modeled estimates, not a headcount of diagnosed patients. State survey data from the California Health Interview Survey for 2021–2022 put current asthma at about 8% of Kern County residents, and roughly one in six county residents has been told at some point that they have asthma.

None of that changes what you do about it. It changes how seriously a primary care office in Bakersfield should take a cough that will not go away.

What we manage.

Respiratory problems are primary care problems until they are not. Most of these are handled here from start to finish.

Asthma — diagnosis, medication, and long-term control

COPD and chronic bronchitis

A cough that has lasted weeks

Shortness of breath that needs working up

Bronchitis and respiratory infections

Allergies that are driving breathing symptoms

Wheezing, chest tightness, and nighttime coughing

Valley fever testing and treatment

Smoking and vaping cessation

Flu, COVID-19, pneumococcal, and RSV vaccination review

Who we see: LAC Medical is an adult primary care practice in Bakersfield — we do not see children. If you are calling about a child’s asthma, call (661) 735-1710 and the front desk will point you toward a pediatric option.

What asthma care actually involves.

Asthma is a long-term condition managed over years, not a prescription handed out once. Here is the work.

Getting the diagnosis right

Not every cough is asthma, and not every wheeze is either. We take a real history — when symptoms happen, what you were doing, whether they wake you up, what season is worst — and examine you. Breathing testing (spirometry) may be done in the office or arranged, depending on what your visit needs.

Controller versus rescue, and why it matters

A rescue inhaler opens the airway during an attack. A controller inhaler is taken daily to keep the airway from becoming reactive in the first place. Many people who end up in urgent care are using rescue medication as their whole plan. If you are reaching for a rescue inhaler often, that is not a supply problem — that is a signal the controller side of the plan needs to change.

Medication review, every visit

Inhalers are easy to take incorrectly. We check technique, dose, spacer use, refill timing, and cost. If a medication is not affordable, tell us — that is a clinical problem, not an awkward one, and there is usually another option on your formulary.

Finding what sets you off

Dust, smoke, mold, pets, cold air, exercise, fragrances, cleaning products, workplace exposures, and the outdoor air on a bad day. We work through what is realistic to change and what has to be managed with medication instead.

A written action plan

You leave with a plan in plain language: what to take daily, what to take when symptoms start, what counts as a flare, and at what point you call us instead of waiting. Spanish version available.

Follow-up on a schedule

Well-controlled asthma still gets rechecked. Poorly controlled asthma gets rechecked sooner. We set the interval at your visit rather than waiting for the next bad week to bring you back.

Related conditions get handled in the same visit. Reflux, allergies, sinus disease, obesity, and uncontrolled blood pressure all interact with breathing. We manage those here too — see Diabetes Care and Blood Pressure & Heart Health, or the full Primary Care page.

What the first visit looks like.

Whether you are new to LAC or already a patient, the flow is the same. Most people leave the first visit with a plan.

Tell us the pattern

When it started, how often it happens, what it feels like, what makes it worse, and whether it wakes you at night. Bring your inhalers and any medication bottles — the actual devices, not a list from memory.

Exam and breathing assessment

We listen to your lungs, check your oxygen level, and assess how hard you are working to breathe. Breathing testing may be done in the office or arranged if the picture needs it.

Rule things out

Cough and shortness of breath have more than one cause. Depending on your history, that can mean bloodwork, a chest X-ray, allergy evaluation, or Valley fever testing. We order what the case calls for and explain why.

Build the plan

Controller medication if you need one, rescue medication that you actually have on hand, vaccinations reviewed, triggers named, and a written plan for flares.

Set the follow-up before you leave

You will know when you are coming back and what has to change by then. If the plan is not working, we want to hear about it before the next appointment, not at it.

Managing asthma on a bad air day.

Practical, not preachy. These are the things that actually change how a high-pollution day goes.

Check the number before you plan the day

You can check the day’s air quality for your ZIP code at AirNow.gov, the EPA’s public air quality site, or through the Valley Air District’s RAAN tool at valleyair.org, which gives hourly local readings and can send you alerts. On days rated unhealthy, it is worth keeping activity indoors and having your rescue inhaler with you.

Move outdoor plans, don’t cancel them

Exercise is good for asthma. On a bad-air day, move it indoors or to a cleaner window rather than skipping it. Ozone tends to be a warm-afternoon problem; particle pollution behaves differently. The daily reading tells you more than the season does.

Indoor air is the part you control

Keep windows closed when the outdoor number is bad. A HEPA-rated filter in the room you sleep in does more than one in a hallway. Change your HVAC filter on schedule. Avoid burning candles, incense, or wood indoors on high-particulate days.

Keep the rescue inhaler filled and findable

Expired, empty, or in the other car is the same as not having one. Check the dose counter. Keep a second one where you spend your day if that is realistic for you.

Take the controller on good days too

Controller medication works by preventing airway inflammation, which means it has to be in your system before the bad day arrives. Stopping it because you feel fine is a common reason a plan quietly stops working.

Dust and disturbed soil count

Windy days, dirt lots, tilled fields, yard work, and construction all put particles and — separately — Valley fever spores into the air you are breathing. If you work outdoors around dust, say so at your visit. It changes what we watch for.

Valley fever: what it is and when to get tested.

Valley fever is common here and looks like a lot of other respiratory illnesses. Here is the plain version.

What it is

Valley fever is an infection caused by a fungus that lives in the soil here. People get it by breathing in dust that carries the fungus. It is not spread from person to person, and you cannot catch it from a family member or a pet.

Valley fever is common in the San Joaquin Valley. In 2024, the most recent year with final numbers, the California Department of Public Health counted about 3,900 Valley fever cases in Kern County — roughly a third of all cases reported in California that year. Counts move year to year: the county reported about 2,600 cases in 2020 and about 2,400 in 2022 before rising to about 3,900 in 2024. Preliminary state counts for 2025 and for the first half of 2026 are running below 2024. Final 2025 numbers have not been published yet.

Source: California Department of Public Health, Valley Fever Data Dashboards. Final case counts through 2024; preliminary counts through June 2026.

Valley fever occurs year-round, but exposure tends to go up in the dry months of summer and early fall, and most cases are diagnosed in the fall and early winter. There is no season in which it stops being worth considering.

Most people who breathe it in are fine

According to the California Department of Public Health, most people who breathe in the fungus — about 6 in 10 — never develop symptoms and may never know they were exposed. Serious illness that spreads beyond the lungs is uncommon, affecting about 1 in 100 people who get Valley fever, and most people recover fully.

That is the honest framing. Valley fever is worth knowing about because it is frequently mistaken for something else, not because it is likely to be severe.

What it looks like

Valley fever usually starts one to three weeks after exposure and can look like pneumonia or the flu — cough, fever, tiredness, chest pain, night sweats, muscle or joint pain, sometimes a rash or bumps on the skin, often on the front of the legs. Symptoms often last a few weeks to a few months, and tiredness can linger after everything else has cleared.

Because it looks like other respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19 and the flu, testing is the only way to tell them apart.

When to ask about testing

If a cough, fever, or unusual tiredness has lasted more than a week or so, it is reasonable to come in and be checked. A cough that will not clear in Bakersfield is worth testing, not waiting out. Valley fever is one of the things we consider here, and it is one of the reasons a “walking pneumonia” that is not improving on antibiotics should be looked at again rather than re-treated.

Ask sooner if you have spent time around disturbed soil or outdoor dust — construction, agriculture, landscaping, firefighting, field work, digging, or yard work on a windy day. Anyone who breathes Bakersfield air can get Valley fever; exposure is simply higher for people who work in it.

What testing and treatment involve

Testing for Valley fever usually means a blood test, and sometimes a chest X-ray. We can order both. Not everyone who has it needs medication — antifungal treatment is used for some patients, and that is a decision made case by case with you. When a case needs infectious disease or pulmonology involvement, we make the referral and stay in the loop rather than handing you off and disappearing.

Who is more likely to get seriously ill

The California Department of Public Health lists adults 60 and older, people who are pregnant, people with diabetes, people whose immune systems are weakened by illness or medication — including cancer treatment, steroids, autoimmune illness, HIV, or an organ transplant — and people who are Black or Filipino. If that describes you, tell us. It changes how quickly we test rather than how worried you should be.

What to say when you call: “I’ve had a cough for [how long] and I want to be checked for Valley fever.” That is enough. You do not need a referral, and you do not need to justify the request.

When not to wait.

Asthma and respiratory illness can escalate faster than an appointment slot. Call 911 or go to an emergency department now — do not wait for an appointment, and do not drive yourself — if you are dealing with any of the following.

You cannot speak a full sentence without stopping for breath
Your rescue inhaler is wearing off much faster than usual, or is not helping at all
Lips, face, or fingertips look blue or gray
You are struggling so hard to breathe that your neck, ribs, or chest are pulling in
You are confused, unusually drowsy, or someone else has noticed you are not acting right
Chest pain that is new, severe, or comes with sweating or nausea

Call 911 for any of the above. Do not drive yourself. If you are not sure how serious it is, call 911 anyway.

For anything urgent but not an emergency, call (661) 735-1710 during business hours — we hold same-day slots for established patients, and new patients are usually seen within the same week. Do not use email or the appointment form for an urgent problem.

When we refer out — and when we don’t.

Most asthma and most respiratory infections are managed completely in primary care. That is the default here, and it is faster and cheaper for you than a specialty visit you wait two months for.

We refer to pulmonology when asthma stays uncontrolled despite an appropriate controller plan, when the diagnosis does not fit, when COPD becomes advanced or complicated, when imaging or testing turns up something that needs a specialist’s read, or when a procedure is required that belongs in a specialty setting. We refer to allergy and immunology when allergic disease is clearly driving the asthma and immunotherapy or specialized allergy testing is the next reasonable step. Infectious disease gets involved when a Valley fever case is severe or complicated.

We do not do CT imaging or bronchoscopy in this office. Those are arranged through the referral network, and we manage the handoff so you are not the one chasing paperwork between two systems.

Insurance and cost.

Asthma and respiratory care is regular primary care and is billed that way. If you have Medicare Part B, Qualcare HMO, DHMN HMO, or most major commercial plans, an office visit for breathing problems is typically covered, subject to your plan’s usual cost sharing. Your plan sets coverage — check with them if you are unsure. If you do not see your plan listed, call — most major commercial plans are accepted. LAC Medical does not accept Medi-Cal or Kern Family Health Care.

Labs, imaging, and breathing testing are billed by whoever performs them, and coverage depends on your plan. If cost is a factor in whether you fill a prescription or complete a test, say so at the visit. There is usually more than one path, and we would rather adjust the plan than have you skip it quietly.

Insurance details, new patient forms, and what to bring are on Patient Resources. Records, lab results, and bill pay are in the patient portal.

Questions we hear.

The ones that come up on the phone, answered before you call.

Can I get tested for Valley fever without a referral?

Yes. Call (661) 735-1710 or request an appointment and say you want to be checked for Valley fever. Testing usually means a blood test, and sometimes a chest X-ray. Both are ordered here.

How do I know if it’s asthma or just Bakersfield air?

You often cannot tell from symptoms alone, and the honest answer is that it is frequently both — poor air quality makes existing asthma worse and can unmask asthma that was never diagnosed. That is what the visit is for: history, exam, and breathing testing when it is indicated.

What’s the difference between my two inhalers?

A rescue inhaler is for symptoms happening right now. A controller inhaler is taken every day, whether or not you feel bad, to keep the airway from becoming reactive. If you are using your rescue inhaler regularly, bring both to your next visit — that usually means the controller plan needs to change.

Is Valley fever contagious?

No. It comes from breathing in dust that contains a fungus that lives in the soil here. It does not spread from one person to another, or between people and animals.

Do you see children for asthma?

No. LAC Medical is an adult primary care practice and does not see children. Call (661) 735-1710 and the front desk will help you find a pediatric option.

¿Hablan español?

Sí. Hay personal y proveedor que hablan español todos los días que estamos abiertos, y esta página también está disponible en español: Asma y Salud Respiratoria.

Not breathing right? Let’s look at it.

LAC Medical is accepting new patients in Bakersfield. Most new patients are seen within the same week.

Request an appointment

Send a request and our front desk calls you back to schedule. We answer requests within one business day. New patients and current patients both use this form.

The form asks for three things: your name, your phone number, and the best time to call you. Our office is at 5300 Lennox Avenue, Suite 105 in Bakersfield.

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Already a patient? You can also request an appointment, view results, and pay your bill in the patient portal.