Dealing with asthma presents a number of challenges, but it does not have to reduce your quality of life. You can find many ways to manage your asthma so that it does not interfere with your daily life. Here are some suggestions that can help you live with asthma.
When you have asthma, you need to be careful around chemical cleaning products. Many chemicals contained in common cleaning products can aggravate your asthma, triggering an attack. If you are responsible for cleaning your residence, think about purchasing natural products, which are less likely to set off your asthma.
Do you know the type of asthma that you suffer with? Before you can develop a self-care plan for your asthma symptoms, you need to know the specific cause of your symptoms. People who suffer from exercise-induced asthma should consider carrying an emergency inhaler in their bag. By knowing the pattern to your symptoms it will be a big help to you avoiding crises.
There are certain medications that cause or exacerbate asthma symptoms. Not everyone knows this. Aspirin is a common medication that can affect asthma sufferers. Beta blockers can also have this affect, as well as other medications for controlling high blood pressure and heart disease. If you suffer from these conditions and also have asthma, be sure to let your doctor know.
Ensure your child is never around smoke to handle their asthma. One of the biggest reasons people have asthma is secondhand smoke. Also, do not let your child around others who smoke.
If you suffer from asthma, try seeing if a leukotriene inhibitor helps. Leukotriene inhibitors are used to prevent things called leukotrienes. Leukotriene is a substance that may cause inflammation. This can make a person have an asthma attack. The inhibitor will keep the leukotrienes from forming, which can reduce the frequency of asthma attacks that you experience.
If you are asthmatic, you absolutely must not subject yourself to any form of cigarette smoke. Smoking is detrimental to anyone’s health, but those with asthma suffer especially because cigarettes lessen the oxygen supply that is crucial for the lungs to function properly and prevent an asthma attack.
Make sure that you and your loved ones get a flu vaccination yearly. Do everything you can to avoid a respiratory infection if you have asthma. Making sure to consistently wash your hands, and getting the proper vaccinations are two standard precautions.
If you suffer from asthma, you should avoid cleaning products that have strong odors. A lot of these products contain harsh chemicals such as ammonia. These chemicals wreak havoc on you and can trigger an attack. There are many natural alternatives you can use to clean your home, instead of using harsh chemicals.
IF you have asthma, you should consider buying a dehumidifier. Lowering humidity will reduce the amount of dust mites in your home, and help your asthma improve. Dehumidifiers eliminate your home’s humidity, leaving dry air.
If you have asthma, you need to avoid any kind of tobacco smoke. Smoking is off limits. Stay away from vapors and chemical fumes, too. This can cause an asthma attack, and you may be unable to bring it under control. If you find yourself in a situation where you are around smokers, remove yourself as quickly as possible.
Always choose unscented products for your home if you have asthma. Scented products such as air fresheners, incense and perfume heighten the degree of indoor air impurities and may possibly contribute to an attack. Put down some new carpeting and throw up a coat of paint to get rid of indoor odors. Try keeping the air indoors as fresh as it can be.
Be certain to properly use your inhaler. Try to locate a calming location, and be certain to adhere to any directions given by the inhaler’s maker. The inhaler only can help if it’s medicine reaches the lungs. While inhaling, spray the dosage in your mouth. Hold in your breath for 10 seconds so the medicine works properly.
Make sure to examine what it is that causes your asthma attacks in order to best avoid having to deal with them. Most with asthma share common triggers, like pet dander, pollen or smoke. Whenever you can, avoid the things that trigger your asthma.
Cleaning Products
If you suffer from asthma, consider using a feather-free pillow to sleep. People are often allergic to these natural products that can affect breathing and bring on asthma symptoms. This applies to bedding, as well. Purchase sheets and comforters that are made of hypoallergenic materials.
It’s been proven that you should use no more than four cleaning products in the home. If you do it can increase the risk of asthma attacks. Opt for organic cleaning products that do not contain irritating chemicals.
Mold and mildew can thrive in a humid home environment. These fungi are both common triggers for asthma attacks. Therefore, it can benefit you to ensure your home stays as dry as possible. You can maintain a dry home by using a dehumidifier and heater in the colder months, and air conditioning when it is warm.
Whenever you travel, always keep your rescue inhaler or other fast-acting medication by your side at all times. Traveling causes extra strain on your already stressed body, which makes your body more susceptible to bothersome asthma triggers. It is also difficult to control your environment while traveling, making it more likely that you may experience an attack or worsening symptoms.
Asthma is a health condition that usually develops over a period of time, and has symptoms that may not be obvious. In some serious cases, people have dropped dead due to an asthma attack without ever knowing they had asthma in the first place. Because of this, if you notice that you have trouble breathing or are constantly coughing, you may want to visit your doctor. They can tell you if you have asthma and if there is a medication that you should be taking. Your doctor can also tell you if there is something you can do to prevent asthma from developing.
Keep all your doctors appointments even if your asthma symptoms aren’t bothering you. It is important to make sure your condition isn’t worsening, and your doctor may want to prescribe a different medication.
Keep an asthma diary and record how often, each week, you must use a rescue inhaler. If your records start to show you need the inhaler more than two times weekly, your environment might be causing you problems or your asthma is not being controlled as well as it could be. The frequency of use of your inhaler can give you an idea about your surroundings and the need to watch them.
Humidity in the home can create an environment that is ideal for mold and mildew to grow. Mold and mildew can easily cause severe asthma attacks. You should do your best to maintain a dry home. 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.
When you are cleaning your home, it is always better to use a wet mop rather than sweeping your floors. If you choose to sweep, you’re swirling up a tornado of dust and allergens, both of which are common triggers for asthma symptoms. Also, use damp rags instead of feather dusters to dust your furniture.
You can wear warm things like a shawl, muffler or scarf, which can help cover your nose and mouth in the colder months. Proper winter wear can keep cold air from agitating your lungs. Breathing cold air can trigger severe asthma attacks. This is especially true for young children with asthma.
Stay away from smoke if you have asthma. The inhalation of smoke can easily trigger an asthma attack. So do whatever you can to stay away from vapors, chemical fumes and smoke from cigarettes. All of these will increase your asthma symptoms. If you live with or near a smoker, find a way to politely ask that they not smoke around you or your living spaces.
Know the right way to take your asthma medication, and above all any rescue medication. A treatment made up of a daily medication plus a rescue inhaler can help to keep asthma under control. Since asthma is chronic in nature, appropriate application and use of both management and rescue medicines is vital.
You should get a second opinion. Your usual doctor will be able to help you, but you should also consider seeing a specialist. A pulmonologist, allergist, nutritionist and the staff at asthma centers can discuss a variety of treatments with you, to help you be sure you are following up on every possible good treatment available.
If you have asthma, clean your floors with a wet mop, instead of sweeping with a traditional broom. When you are sweeping with a broom, you stir up triggers like dirt and dust mites that can cause you to go into an asthma attack. Use damp rags instead of a dry feather duster so triggers won’t be filling the air.
When you suffer from an asthma attack, be sure to remain calm. Wait half a minute and try the inhaler one more time. If you feel your ashtma attack worsening, get immediate help. Ask someone to drive you to the closest hospital or call an ambulance. Breathe into a paper bag for assistance in slowing your breathing during the trip to the hospital.
In conclusion, there are plenty of things you can do to prevent asthma from disturbing your life. Asthma does not have to be a death sentence, so if you can make a plan on how to live with asthma, you will have a much more fulfilling life.
If you need to use your inhaler more often than twice each week, this means your asthma isn’t adequately controlled and a medication change is required. This means that the medication in your inhaler is not working well enough. Having to restock your inhaler more frequently than once every six months is also a concern.