If not left in check, asthma can spiral out of control. Asthma attacks are severe and can sometimes even be fatal. If medical experts aren’t providing you with sufficient advice, you may need to take matters into your own hands as it pertains to your treatment. Here are a few easy tips to help you get a handle on your asthma symptoms.
Keep clear of anything that you know to be a trigger for your asthma. Perhaps you have allergies or are sensitive to dust and pollen. Others find themselves suffering from attacks when they overexert themselves. Pay attention to what causes your attacks so you can prevent them from happening.
Asthma can cause increased sensitivity to the ingredients contained in many cleaning products. Many chemicals contained in common cleaning products can aggravate your asthma, triggering an attack. If you have the job of cleaning your house, you should safer, natural products.
Asthma is ongoing. Therefore, it also requires continual management of your health. Make certain you are doing the most you can each day to keep your symptoms under control. Take the proper medications needed for everyday symptoms, and always have quick relief medication by you at all times in the event an attack occurs. Find out from your allergist and your doctor what is best for you.
Asthma is a chronic disease that requires ongoing, consistent management and care. Be certain that you are prescribed or using the appropriate medicine to manage your daily symptoms, and that you have an emergency medicine readily available in the event of an attack. To find which treatment options are the best for you and your condition, make sure you speak with a doctor and allergist.
Utilize the inhaler correctly. A lot of people use inhalers improperly, so be sure that you’re adhering to the manufacturer’s suggested instructions. The inhaler can only help you if the medication actually reaches the lungs. As you are inhaling air, spray the correct dosage in your mouth. Don’t exhale for ten seconds so that the medicine can go through your lungs.
If you have asthma, avoid cigarette smoke of all kinds. Do not smoke! Never breathe in chemical fumes or vapors. This can aggravate your asthma and it might not stop. The minute you spot people smoking, immediately remove yourself from the area.
Vitamins E and C are beneficial to anyone with asthma. These vitamins can help improve your lung function, ultimately controlling asthma. Vitamin C is available in multiple forms. You can find it in citrus fruits, supplements, and in many other places. These vitamins also help boost your immune system, which helps to prevent illnesses that trigger asthma.
If you find that you are in a dusty room, do not put on any type of fan. This can move the dust around and can trigger an attack easily. Open some windows if you want fresh air.
You will need to keep your residence really clean, especially the bedroom where the asthma sufferer sleeps in order to help lessen the chances of an attack. Keep food in a kitchen or on the dining room table, and avoid cigarette smoking inside. After using chemical to clean, air out the house.
When struggling with asthma, consider using a leukotriene inhibitor. It works to prevent leukotrienes. Leukotrienes has a hand in causing swelling and inflammation in your lungs, and may trigger a asthma attack. The inhibitor can prevent them and decrease your asthma attacks.
Hay fever and colds can worsen asthma symptoms so prepare to need increased treatments. These illnesses have side effects that can cause asthma to flare up and make an increase in medication necessary. Your physician may even recommend that you take additional medication until you recover.
Make sure you use the inhaler in the proper, prescribed method. Find a spot that is peaceful, and then follow the instructions given by the manufacturer. The only way the inhaler will work is if your lungs get the proper amount of medication. Inhale the air and spray the right amount down your throat. Continue holding your breath for approximately 10 seconds. This way, the medication will soak into the cells of your lungs.
Avoid feather pillows if you suffer from asthma. The pillow feathers can cause asthma to flare up and minimize your lung function. This applies to bedding, as well, so it’s best to make sure that everything on your bed is hypoallergenic.
Make certain that you and your loved ones receive annual flu shots. Try to avoid getting any respiratory infections if you have asthma. This means that you should take all standard precautions to avoid illness, such as washing your hands, getting vaccinated and avoiding those who are sick.
Many of the biggest triggers for asthma can, and do, exist in your home. These include dust, mold and spores. To keep yourself healthy and avoid asthma attacks, you may need to hire an inspector to come out once a year to test your home and remove any irritants. Keep your house clean to keep these asthma triggers out of your home.
Using more than four different types of cleaning products in your home has been shown to increase the risk of an asthma attack. Use organic products as often as possible, as these contain fewer harsh chemicals.
During the months that are colder, wear a shawl, muffler or scarf that will cover your nose and mouth to help you avoid asthma attacks. This will warm the air before it gets in your lungs. Breathing cold air can trigger severe asthma attacks. This is especially true for young children with asthma.
Have your rescue inhaler with you at all times, especially when on vacation. Traveling can make you more likely to suffer from attacks due to the extra strain and stress on your body. Influencing the environment around you is nearly impossible while on the road, which is another opportunity for deteriorating symptoms or attack triggers.
Take the time to understand the proper usage of your asthma medication, particularly any that is labelled as rescue medication. Typically, asthma is treated using normal medications along with rescue medication, like an inhaler, for emergency situations. Because asthma can be a lifelong issue, it is vital to take both regular and rescue medications according to the instructions.
If you are traveling by plane and taking along your asthma medications, make sure to have with you any written doctors prescriptions, especially when carrying some large asthma equipment like a nebulizer. If you’ve got written proof, it’ll save you a lot of hassle when you’re at a security check.
Track how often you use your inhaler during each week. 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. If you have to use your inhaler a lot, you will know that you should more closely monitor your surroundings.
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. You can prevent any of these mouth issues by brushing your teeth and gargling mouthwash as soon as you use the inhaler.
Avoid smoke to prevent asthma and asthma attacks. Smoking can trigger a person who has asthma to have an attack. Avoid any kind of chemical fumes, vapors, and tobacco smoke as much as you can. The more you are exposed to fumes, vapors and smoke, the more likely you are to have an asthma attack. If someone starts smoking near you, politely inquire whether they can smoke in your absence.
When housecleaning, it is better to clean your floors with a damp mop than sweeping them with a broom. Sweeping can trigger an asthma attack due to the copious clouds of minute asthma-triggering particles it kicks up. You can greatly reduce this by using a wet sponge, damp rag, or moist cloth instead of your old-fashioned feather duster.
If you do have an asthma attack, make sure 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 the attack gets worse doesn’t get better, then get help immediately. Have someone call emergency services or drive you to the nearest hospital. Try to breathe into a paper bag so that you can calm your breathing when you’re on the way.
Avoiding smoke is key in controlling asthma. Smoke can induce an asthma attack. Avoid any kind of chemical fumes, vapors, and tobacco smoke as much as you can. Things like this can make your asthma worse. If there is someone who always smokes around you, you should politely ask this person to smoke when you aren’t present.
Learn all you can learn about your condition. The more you know about the condition, the better you can help yourself. Keep up with trends and new treatment methods, and ensure that the medical professionals on your team are working hard to help you. You can easily know this information by further developing your knowledge about your condition, as well as, discovering treatment options.
Asthma sufferers should avoid close contact with all animals. While allergies to dander or animal hair can possibly complicate your asthma, even those with no such allergies can have asthma attacks by inhaling the pollen and dust animals usually carry about with them.
Don’t skimp on vitamin B6. Vitamin B6 — also called pyridoxine– can reduce the intensity and frequency of asthma attacks. Vitamin B6 is essential for producing chemicals that cause lung tissue to relax. You can find a good supply of vitamin B6 in natural foods such as bananas.
Asthmatics should avoid smoking tobacco products whenever possible. Although bad for everyone, cigarettes can cause greater problems for those with asthma. Smoke is extremely irritating to the already sensitive asthmatic lungs, so care should be taken to not only smoke, but also avoid being in the presence of other people who are smoking.
The following symptoms can signify a serious attack worthy of emergency room attention. Some signs of an attack that is very serious include blue-ish or gray fingernails and lips and increased medication use with diminished or no effect. Your child can have a hard time speaking.
Watch the pollen counts and adjust your activity accordingly to protect yourself from seasonal asthma issues. Asthma itself may not be an allergy, many of the same things that affect allergy sufferers also affect those with asthma. Check the local air quality report online to determine whether to stay indoors and keep irritant exposure to a minimum.
If a loved one suffers from asthma, it is important to be sure that smoking is prohibited around them. If you know someone who smokes, ask that they do so outdoors away from the asthmatic. Heavy smokers may trigger an asthma attack just by carrying the scent of smoke on their clothing.
Asthma is an uncurable disease, but that doesn’t mean that the symptoms are permanent and can’t go away. However, just like most things in life, overcoming your asthma symptoms takes time and effort. If you follow these easy tips, you’ll find that your symptoms will get better over time and you’ll be able to enjoy a healthier, more active lifestyle.
Don’t do lots of exercise outside if the air is dry and cold if you are an asthma sufferer. This can cause your bronchial airways to get cold and dry, and that can cause asthma attacks. Before doing strenuous exercise outside, make sure it’s warm and humid.