If you have recently been given a diagnosis of asthma you may be feeling some panic. There is no known cure for asthma. However, you shouldn’t consider your life to be over just because you have received this diagnosis. Keep reading to gain insight as to what you can do to keep this serious disease under control.
Don’t smoke around your child if they have asthma; this could worsen their situation. Secondhand smoke is a trigger for asthma attacks, not to mention the myriad of other diseases it can cause. Make sure you keep your child away from other people who are smoking, too.
If you have been diagnosed with asthma, you must avoid cigarette smoke at all costs. Smoking is off limits. Stay away from vapors and chemical fumes, too. A severe asthma attack can be life threatening. Do everything you can to avoid cigarette smoke, air pollution, allergens and harsh chemical fumes to keep your asthma symptoms under control.
Asthma can cause increased sensitivity to the ingredients contained in many cleaning products. Cleaning products are often full of chemicals, and breathing those chemicals in can irritate your lungs. If you do the cleaning in your house, use natural solutions that are safer for you to breath in.
Try a leukotriene inhibitor if you have asthma. This type of inhibitor is designed to prevent leukotrienes. Leukotriene is a chemical substance that can lead to inflammation that can cause an asthma attack. The inhibitor can prevent them and decrease your asthma attacks.
There are medicines out there that may increase your chance of triggering asthma symptoms. Believe it or not, something as seemingly innocuous as aspirin can actually trigger symptoms. Some medications for blood pressure and heart disease – those referred to as beta blockers – can also exacerbate asthma problems. Make sure your physician is aware of all of your chronic conditions and any medications you are on so they can treat your asthma appropriately.
Contact a social worker if you have asthma but do not meet the eligibility requirements for health insurance. It’s vital that you stay on medication, so there may be programs available to help you get them at a discount.
Asthma is a disease that is ongoing and must be attended to every day. It is crucial that you have the proper medications for controlling asthma, as well as medication, such as a rescue inhaler to treat sudden attacks. Speak to your allergist and doctor to see what they recommend for you.
You should ensure that every family member in your household gets a flu vaccine yearly. Try to avoid getting any respiratory infections if you have asthma. This includes taking standard precautions against illness, like hand washing, as well as getting vaccinations that can keep you from getting sick.
If you are suffering from a moderate or mild attack, do your best to force as much air out of the lungs as possible. Breathe out hard and fast. It can’t be said too strongly: you must force the air out! Do your inhalations in triple bursts of short breaths, and then follow with final deep inhalation so that you fill your lungs comfortably, before exhaling with vehemence once more. This will create a rhythm and will help you be aware of the way you are breathing. It also pushes the air out of your lungs, so that more air can come in. It is okay that you cough up some sputum, you really want to breathe right again.
If you are dealing with asthma, you would benefit from buying a dehumidifier. Lowering humidity will reduce the amount of dust mites in your home, and help your asthma improve. Dehumidifiers keep the humidity out of your home by keeping the air dry.
If you suffer from asthma and you are not eligible for health insurance, speak with a social worker. It’s vital that you stay on medication, so there may be programs available to help you get them at a discount.
People who have asthma should avoid using scented household products. Using products in your home such as incense, perfume or air fresheners can increase the amount of microscopic pollutants indoors and trigger asthma attacks. Fresh paint and new carpeting also give off odors that may aggravate the airways. Clean your indoor air and keep it as fresh as you can.
IF you have asthma, you should consider buying a dehumidifier. Decreasing the humidity in the house decreases dust mites, which decreases asthma flare ups. Dehumidifiers remove the humidity by drying out the air that flows through your house.
Keep all your doctors appointments even if your asthma symptoms aren’t bothering you. 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.
Keep your home dust-free and get rid of any carpet in your house to help prevent asthma attacks, especially in a bedroom. Don’t smoke indoors, or allow any junk food in your home. After cleaning around the house, open windows and allow fresh air into the house. This can reduce the smell and pervasiveness of household cleaners like bleach.
It’s important to keep up with your daily preventative inhaler routine, but watch out for mouth infections, especially in both teeth and gums. Always clean your teeth and rinse your mouth after you use your inhaler.
Make sure you get a flu shot each year if you have asthma or if your child does. Getting vaccinated yearly can help keep many of these illnesses at bay.
Allergens, pollen and other irritants can collect in your linens and aggravate your asthma. You can get rid of these by washing your sheets and other linens in very hot water each week. Fresh bed linens, laundered on a regular basis, will keep you breathing clearly and easily at night while you slumber.
If you are on the road, be certain to travel with your inhaler at all hours. Traveling can be somewhat stressful and put added strain your body, which might make you more likely to respond to asthma triggers by having an attack. The change in environment can also have a negative impact, since it is impossible to control. This can lead to more frequent attacks or attacks with symptoms that are worse than normal.
See multiple doctors to keep asthma under control. Of course your regular doctor will be the one you go to for help with your asthma, but you should also see a specialist. Asthma doctors, allergists, and pulmiologists are the people who you want to consult with to help with asthma.
Even if your asthma is not acting up, attend all of your doctor’s appointments. Medical science is constantly evolving, so the doctor might know about a new treatment for you. Besides, you can never be sure when another attack might come on, so it’s better to be checked out.
Any time that pollen counts go up, anyone suffering from asthma would be wise to keep their outdoors time to a minimum. Asthma’s not an allergy, but many things that irritate allergies also irritate asthma. Now that local air quality information is available in most areas, asthma sufferers can minimize their outdoor exposure when potential irritants are in the air.
If you or a loved one suffers from asthma, a support group may help. You can find support groups online or in your community. If you have asthma, it can stop you from participating in basic activities like sports, especially if the condition is severe. As science marches on, new medications and treatments for asthma become available, and you can keep abreast of this progress through a good support group.
If you tend to suffer from any allergies or asthmatic conditions, always clean vaporizers very thoroughly, as well humidifiers and any associated apparatus. If the vaporizer or humidifier has not been thoroughly cleaned there could be bacteria growing inside of it. When you turn it on it will pump allergens that you will inevitably breath in.
Many of the biggest triggers for asthma can, and do, exist in your home. These causes are sources, such as, but not limited to dust, mold and spores. To keep these triggers out of your home, have a professional inspector come to your home each year to remove these nasties from your home. Regularly cleaning your house can also contribute to preventing buildup of these substances.
If you experience a sudden asthma attack, staying calm is extremely important. Immediately use your inhaler, then wait a half a minute and do so again. Don’t suffer in silence or wait it out if your breathing gets worse instead of better after using your inhaler. You need immediate medical attention if this happens. Ask a family member or friend to call for ambulatory help or to drive you to the emergency room. Breathing in and out of a paper bag on the way will help slow down your breathing.
Monitor how often, each week, you need your rescue inhaler. If you have to use your inhaler more than twice, then our asthma is not being controlled effectively, and you may need to see your doctor for a way to get it under control again. The number of times you use your inhaler can serve as a good reminder to monitor your environment and other aspects of your asthma management plan.
Learn everything you can about your condition. The more you know about asthma, the more proactive a treatment you can devise for yourself. Make sure you are learning the newest information about treatments and get the best doctor to help you with it. You can only properly treat the condition once you gain knowledge about it and the treatments that are available.
Contact with pets and other animals should be minimized for the asthma sufferer. Having an allergy to dander or animal hair could be possible asthma complications, even sufferers free of these kinds of allergies could still have an asthma attack that is caused by pollen and dust animals seem to carry around with them.
Vitamin B6
Dust and other allergens often accumulate in bed sheets. You can get rid of these by washing your sheets and other linens in very hot water each week. Sleeping with fresh bed linens will ensure you can breathe easy when you sleep.
Increase the amount of vitamin B6 in your diet. Studies have shown that pyridoxine, also known as vitamin B6, can reduce the severity and frequency of asthma attacks. Pyridoxine (vitamin B6) is instrumental in the production of specific molecules which help the bronchial tissue to relax. People who need additional vitamin B6 should eat bananas.
See multiple doctors to keep asthma under control. It’s true your primary doctor should be your main source for all your asthma help, but it may be wise to see one or two asthma specialists. Some specialists to consider visiting are those who deal directly with allergies or nutrition. This is a great way to attack asthma from all angles.
Remain watchful toward allergy attacks and change your medication if you experience more than two attacks per week. Both doctors and nurses claim having a larger number than two attacks each week can be very hazardous. This can be easily prevented.
Asthma sufferers should stay indoors as much as possible when pollen counts rise. Even though asthma is not considered to be an allergy, asthma is triggered by the same things that cause allergies. Now that you have information on local air quality in most areas, people who suffer from asthma will be able to decrease outdoor activities if there is potential irritants in the air.
Work on gradually training your lungs to be able to take more stress. Don’t start a grueling workout that you know your asthma will not allow you to finish.
If repainting a room is in your future, purchase a quality mask first to protect your lungs from paint fumes. Paint can irritate your asthma a lot, so this mask acts like a protective barrier to prevent this. Avoid substances and chemicals which can worsen your asthma.
As seen here, it is important that you are prepared in order to manage asthma. Knowing the kind of asthma you have and the different methods on how you can deal with it daily is necessary in order to avoid crises. By reading this article, you have taken an important step in gaining the understanding you need to keep your asthma in check.
Asthma is sometimes caused by genetics, and sometimes by environmental causes. If someone in your family has asthma, pay extra attention to any asthma-like symptoms from yourself and your children. Protect your children and yourself from the many common pollutants in the air, such as mold, dust and pollen to prevent or reduce asthma symptoms.