Asthma can be a serious condition that can negatively affect your life. You should take necessary steps to keep it from becoming severe and out of control. This article has many tips on managing your asthma.
You need to make sure that you do not smoke and that you stay away from a lot of fumes and vapors if you suffer from asthma. This means you should stay away from all tobacco products and carefully consider the jobs you apply to, especially in factories, as you may be exposed to harmful smoke or vapors.
Know situations and conditions that cause asthma attacks for you, and stay away from them in the future as much as possible. Many asthma suffers find that dust or pollen can trigger an attack. Others experience an attack from physical activities. Look for the trigger points in your life, so you can work around them.
Ensure your child is never around smoke to handle their asthma. Secondhand smoke is something that can lead to serious asthma. You also need to be sure that your child isn’t around those that choose to smoke.
Asthma Symptoms
If you are suffering from asthma, it is essential that you quit smoking cigarettes. Although smoking is bad for all people, it is especially worse for asthma patients because it cuts off the oxygen supply that you need in order for your lungs to function and keep away asthma attacks.
There are medicines out there that may increase your chance of triggering asthma symptoms. Some anti-inflammatory drugs, such as aspirin or ibuprofen, can flare up asthma symptoms. Beta blockers, such as those used to control high blood pressure or heart disease may also have this effect. If you suffer from these conditions and also have asthma, be sure to let your doctor know.
Having a fast acting inhaler is vital to save asthmatics from experiencing severe symptoms. Talk to your physician and find out if a leukotriene inhibitor would be right for you. There are modern medicines that are highly effective at blocking leukotrienes. Leukotrienes has a hand in causing swelling and inflammation in your lungs, and may trigger a asthma attack. Using an inhibitor will counteract the negative effects of leukotriene, thereby decreasing the occurrence of asthma attacks.
Asthma is an ongoing disease and requires ongoing health management. Be sure to take the correct medicines to keep your daily asthma symptoms under control, and always have emergency medication available in case an attack occurs. A variety of options are available for the treatment of asthmatic attacks. Consult your doctor and an allergist.
Make certain that all members of your family get their annual flu shot. Keep yourself healthy, and without respiratory infections as best you can. This means taking every precaution possible, do things like getting vaccinated to prevent sickness to hand washing on a regular basis.
Know how to use your inhaler correctly. Find a quiet spot and follow the instructions the manufacturer has given. The only way the inhaler can help is if the medication can reach your lungs. While inhaling air, spray required dosage in your mouth. Hold your breath still for ten seconds at least in order to let the mist with medicine fill your lungs.
If you are using a lot of different cleaners around your house you can trigger a asthma attack. Use organic cleaning products since they don’t have irritating chemicals.
If you are dealing with asthma, you would benefit from buying a dehumidifier. When you use a dehumidifier, it will reduce the amount of dust mites. This will reduce asthma attacks. Dehumidifiers reduce humidity and keep the air in your home dry.
To keep from triggering any bad symptoms of asthma or a full-blown attack, it’s important to keep the home clean and tidy, free of dust and other particulates. This is particularly important in a bedroom. Food must only be allowed in the kitchen area, and there should be no smoking in the house at all. Don’t use strong cleaners or bleach and air out the house immediately following cleaning.
Using over four kinds of cleaning products in the home can trigger asthma attacks. Choose natural and organic products which don’t have chemicals that will irritate your disease.
If you have asthma, or if your children have asthma, it is vital that you receive the flu shot yearly. Keep yourself safe from these outbreaks by getting a yearly shot.
Be prepared for your asthma treatment to be increased if you have a cold or hay fever. Make sure your doctor prescribes a fast acting inhaler for emergency situations. Your physician may even recommend that you take additional medication until you recover.
Keep all your regularly scheduled asthma appointments, regardless of how you are feeling. Your doctor may be able to prescribe more effective treatments and you may be suffering symptoms you’re not aware are related to your asthma.
Make sure you get a flu shot once a year if you suffer from asthma. Avoid a lot of these infections by getting vaccinated each year.
A humid home environment is a healthy environment for mildew and mold to develop. These things can trigger asthma attacks very easily. Thus, keep the air in your home as moisture-free as possible to avoid asthma-related problems. When you are using a heater in winter time, you can run a dehumidifier for help controlling humidity. In the summer, running your air conditioner will allow you to keep your humidity down.
Be certain you are aware of all your asthma attack triggers so you know both how to steer clear of them and also be ready to take care of your symptoms. Generally, it is found that items such as smoke and pollen can trigger attacks in those that suffer with asthma. Avoid these things when you can to breathe easier.
Find out how you are supposed to use your asthma medication and rescue treatments. A typical asthma treatment plan is daily medication backed up with an emergency inhaler. Since asthma is chronic in nature, appropriate application and use of both management and rescue medicines is vital.
Avoid pillows with feathers if you have asthma. Feather can decrease lung function and trigger asthma symptoms. This also goes for bedding; use sheets, comforters and blankets that are crafted from hypoallergenic materials.
If you’re flying and bringing along your asthma medications, bring a doctor’s written prescription with you. When you have written proof that these items are necessary it can help speed along the security procedures.
Think about becoming a member of a support group, whether it is online or somewhere local. Since severe asthma can be quite debilitating, it can have a huge impact on your everyday life. In addition, a community of other asthma sufferers will let you know about changes in medications or other relevant scientific discoveries.
Instead of sweeping your floors with a broom, it is preferable to clean using a wet mop. Those particles that can trigger asthma attacks are stirred up when you sweep. Dust will adhere to a wet towel instead of being loose in the air like feather dusters do where it can aggravate your asthma.
Your home can be the cause of your asthma and its triggers. Some of these irritants include dust, mold and spores. To stay healthy and reduce the chance of asthma attacks, you should have an inspector visit your house yearly to remove these harmful agents. Cleaning your house on a regular basis is one way to keep these substances from accumulating.
Consult with multiple doctors. You may use your primary physician for most things, but a specialist can be very helpful as well. Asthma doctors, allergists, and pulmiologists are the people who you want to consult with to help with asthma.
It’s important to keep up with your daily preventative inhaler routine, but watch out for mouth infections, especially in both teeth and gums. To prevent these issues, brush and use mouthwash immediately after inhaler usage.
Asthma sufferers should stay indoors as much as possible when pollen counts rise. Asthma symptoms are not the same as allergic reactions, but allergies and asthma attacks have many common triggers. The same air quality reports available in the local news for allergy problems can also help those with asthma issues stay indoors on particularly hazardous days.
Your bed linen could be filled with dust, pollen or other allergens. These threats can be reduced or even eliminated by keeping your bed linens laundered every week using hot water. These fresh, regularly washed linens can help you breathe easier when sleeping.
If you have asthma and you’re also an allergy sufferer, you must only use a vaporizer or humidifier that’s been cleaned thoroughly. Bacteria can breed in moist parts of the machine, and if it is unclean when you turn it on, it will just pump out allergens.
When dealing with an asthma attack, it is important to stay calm. You should use your inhaler immediately upon the first signs of an attack. Once you have used it, use it again 30 seconds later. If you do this and you notice that your attack is worsening then you need to get help. Get somebody to phone for EMS or even transport you themselves to the nearest emergency medical facility. Slow your breathing by inhaling and exhaling into a paper bag while you are waiting for help.
Asthma may be caused by environmental factors, genetics, or possibly both. If anyone in your family suffers from asthma, watch very closely for any asthma-like symptoms in yourself or your children. There are a lot of things in your home that can cause asthma, some of these are smoke, mold, dust and pollution.
Be proactive in controlling your asthma with regular visits to your doctor. Your physician needs to have the opportunity to see what is happening with you, and alter your treatment plan if necessary. Although your doctor is there to help you stay healthy and manage your asthma, your health is your responsibility. Make and keep regular doctor’s appointments so that you can keep asthma under control.
Keeping your home neat, clean, and regularly swept can really help to reduce the number of asthma attacks you have. Make sure you wash your bedding often. When you keep everything clean, you are preventing dust and mites from building up, which will help stop asthma attacks. Built up dust makes the air irritating and increases the chances of an asthma attack.
Vitamin B6
Become stronger and increase the amount of air your lungs can hold over time. A more strenuous exercise program may irritate your airways and bring on an asthma attack so you will want to proceed with caution.
Increase the amount of vitamin B6 in your diet. Known as pyridoxine, vitamin B6 has been proven to reduce the intensity and frequency of asthma attacks. Pyridoxine is very important in the production of certain molecules that will help relax bronchial tissues. Bananas contain B6, as do many other delicious foods.
There should be absolutely no smoking around family members with asthma. Those who smoke should do it outside, a good distance away from your home and from the asthma sufferer. A heavy smoker can trigger someone’s asthma attack simply because they are carrying a heavy smoke scent on their clothing.
Keep track of any allergy symptoms you suffer and talk to your doctor if you have more than 2 attacks in any given week. Both doctors and nurses claim having a larger number than two attacks each week can be very hazardous. This can be easily prevented.
If you are an asthma sufferer, be sure to follow proper warm-up and cool-down procedures before and after strenuous exercise. Doing both of these things will help prevent you from having a serious asthma attack during your exercise or after it.
Always consult with your primary care physician if your symptoms worsen. More importantly, you should apply these tips whenever possible, to keep the symptoms down and hopefully, improve your quality of life.
Replace your bed pillows as often as possible. Use pillowslips and towels that are made of 100 percent cotton, because it is hard for dust mites to establish themselves in this fabric. Dust mites are number one in causing attacks in asthma sufferers.