Asthma is a very difficult disease to live with. Asthma will make your ability to do daily tasks harder. Asthma is incurable and symptoms can be difficult to control. Read the tips in this article to learn how to handle your asthma.
Do you know which type of asthma you suffer from? One of the best ways to combat asthma and its limiting effects on your life is to know and understand as much as you can about your specific condition. For example, if you have exercise-induced asthma, you will want to always make sure you have an inhaler in your gym bag. When you know what triggers your asthma, you will be more prepared to stop attacks before they begin.
You should not smoke or be anywhere near smoke if you suffer from asthma. Because of this, you should avoid any kind of tobacco smoke and take any job that you want to apply for into consideration; factories could expose you to a variety of smoke, vapors and dust.
In order to prevent asthma attacks, keep away from triggers. For some, allergens such as dust and pollen can trigger an attack. For others, physical activity can irritate them. Look for the trigger points in your life, so you can work around them.
Quit smoking or avoid smoke if you suffer from asthma. Smoking is horrible for people, it is really bad if asthma becomes worse and blocks oxygen to your body, you need oxygen to work and stave off asthma.
There are some common medications that you could be using that will cause asthma symptoms. Various NSAIDs and aspirin have been reported to do this. You can also use beta blockers, which will help you manage blood pressure. 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.
Though it should go without saying, do not turn on any fans or circulation systems when in a room containing visible dust that has yet to be cleaned. Turning on a fan is going to cause the dust to leave its surface and begin filling the air of your environment. Open a window instead to get the air flowing.
Exhale as hard as you can during an asthma attack. If you can’t breathe at all, go to the hospital; however, controlling your exhalation rate can sometimes help stop a less severe attack. Exhale quickly and hard. Force all the air out of the lungs! Take three short breaths, then one last deep breath to ensure your lungs have enough air, then forcefully breath out. Doing this means breathing in a conscious rhythm that makes you mindful of your breathing. It also helps to push air out from your lungs so new air can come back in. This breathing technique may cause some coughing or sputum, but it can help regulate your breathing and reduce the attack.
If allergens are causing you to suffer from frequent asthma attacks that are moderate to severe, there is an injectable medication that can provide you with long-term relief. It is called omalizumab, and it is an antibody medicine used to control allergic reaction symptoms. You will need to speak to your allergist to find out if this would be helpful to you.
If you are someone who suffers from asthma, stay away from all types of cigarette smoke. Don’t smoke! Don’t breathe vapor or chemical fumes. This can trigger an unstoppable asthma attack. If people smoke around you, you should get away form that area.
Leukotriene Inhibitor
Asthma patients without health insurance can get help by asking a social worker and getting access to programs with the resources asthma patients need. Asthma medications are a necessity, and a social worker can help you find an affordable way to keep your prescriptions current.
When you are having a difficult time with asthma, you might want to use a leukotriene inhibitor. A leukotriene inhibitor is for the prevention of leukotrienes. Leukotriene, a chemical released by the body in response to an allergen, is responsible for inducing many of the symptoms of an asthma attack. The inhibitor prevents leukotrienes, and that can decrease the number of asthma attacks you deal with.
If you are using a lot of different cleaners around your house you can trigger a asthma attack. Organic products are preferable to more chemically loaded, commercially produced cleaning products.
Avoid exposure to secondhand smoke because it is as dangerous to asthmatics as smoking a cigarette. When you inhale tobacco smoke, the lung’s function can be decreased, and you will increase the chance you have an asthma attack. Smaller areas without proper ventilation make you even more susceptible to an attack.
Have your rescue inhaler with you at all times, especially when on vacation. Traveling adds strain on the body and increases your susceptibility to asthma triggers. It’s hard to have much control over your environment when you travel, which makes it more likely you will have some sort of symptoms or an asthma attack.
When suffering from asthma, make sure to choose products that are unscented. Products with a strong smell such as air fresheners, incense or perfume can trigger asthma attacks. Fresh paint and new carpeting also produce smells that can cause irritation to the airways. Try to keep the indoor air as clean and fresh as possible.
You must have regular asthma reviews, even if you are not having any problems. 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.
While traveling, always keep emergency asthma medication on hand and close by. You may find that the stress of traveling makes an asthma attack more likely. You also have little control over your environment when traveling, which can make you more susceptible to an attack and symptoms of greater severity.
When taking asthma medications on a plane trip, bring written medical prescriptions provided by your doctor. Carrying your prescriptions along with written proof that they are medically necessary, will cut down on potential problems at the airport checkpoints.
Support Group
It is important to use your maintenance inhaler daily as prescribed. However, understand that most types of inhalers contain ingredients which may make your mouth more susceptible to infections. Always brush and gargle as soon as you’ve finished using your inhaler to prevent mouth infections.
Find a good support group in the Internet or in your area. Asthma is a disease that can affect your everyday life and prove debilitating in so many ways. A support group also makes it easier to keep up to date on advancements in asthma science or new medications that come on the market.
Anytime you clean your house or apartment, wet mopping is superior to sweeping. The action of sweeping can swirl up a whole cloud of asthma-triggering particles. Use a dampened rag when dusting, instead of a feather duster, so as to prevent stirring up loose dust particles and other asthma triggers.
You need to know how to properly use asthma medications that are prescribed to you, especially your rescue medication, so that you are prepared if you need to use it during an emergency. Asthma is usually treated by using a regular medicine supplemented with a rescue medicine, like an inhaler. Asthma is a serious, chronic health condition, and it’s vital that you take medicine to manage the disease properly and use the rescue medications as directed.
Avoiding smoke is key in controlling asthma. Smoke can cause you to have an asthma attack. Do what you can to avoid chemical fumes, cigarette smoke and other vapors. These things can cause your asthma symptoms to greatly increase. If there’s smoke around you, ask politely for the person to stop smoking.
Asthma isn’t often something that pops up over night, but instead takes time to develop and the symptoms are slowly noticeable. People can even die from their very first asthma attack as they’re not prepared for it! Therefore, if you find yourself having difficulties breathing or with a chronic cough, it is essential that you see a doctor and get tested for asthma. The sooner you get the needed treatment and medication, the better.
Your bed linen could be filled with dust, pollen or other allergens. Clean your linen and pillow case every week to prevent asthma attacks. Clean bed linens that are washed frequently will help you breathe easier every time your head hits the pillow.
Pay attention to how often you reach for your asthma inhaler each week. 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. Remembering the times you use the inhaler provides a good way to keep checking your environment, as well as other things in your plan to manage your asthma.
Avoid smoking and people who are smokers. Most people know that smoking is dangerous, but if you have asthma there are more serious consequences. Smoke greatly irritates the sensitive lungs of the person with asthma, so in addition to not smoking, someone with asthma should avoid people that are smoking.
People with asthma should not smoke. While smoking is a dangerous habit in general, it is far more damaging to those who have asthma. Smoke irritates the lungs of an asthma sufferer, so avoid the presence of people who smoke if you have asthma.
The best way to avoid having an asthma attack is to know what your trigger are. If you don’t know what yours are, keep a journal to potentially show you what they are. Once identified, do everything you can to avoid triggers and eliminate them from your environment whenever possible.
When pollen counts are high, people who have asthma should stay inside. While asthma isn’t a type of allergy, those with asthma are frequently bothered by the same kinds of irritants that cause problems for allergy sufferers. Since data on air quality is now widely published, those with asthma have the ability to avoid being outside when concentrations of irritants are high.
Make sure to regularly clean and sweep your living area. You should wash sheets, pillows, and blankets very frequently. When you do, you prevent dust mite and dust buildup, which can both trigger your asthma attacks. Of course you sleep with your face literally touching your bedding, so a build up of dust can quickly trigger an attack, which is why it is so important to keep your bed dust-free.
As stated earlier, asthma must be taken seriously. It is a medical condition with symptoms that can potentially be catastrophic. Prevent asthma symptoms and attacks whenever and however possible, and if your symptoms spiral out of control then see a doctor immediately. Use the advice you have read from this article to manage your symptoms of asthma and take back control over your life.
Strengthen your core and gradually increase lung capacity. Never induce an asthma attack by attempting a workout when you aren’t sure if you will be able to complete it because of your asthma.