Asthma is a disease that can easily go out of control if left unchecked. A failure to treat your asthma could lead to attacks, and these attacks can be deadly. 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.
Do not smoke around your children if they have asthma. Secondhand smoke can actually cause asthma to appear. Try to keep your children out of environments that are smokey to ensure the health of their lungs.
If asthma is something you suffer from, do not smoke or spend time around smokers, much less any source of vapors and fumes. You should avoid all tobacco products. You also need to consider where you see employment. If you have asthma, you should not work in areas where you will be exposed to smoke or vapors as they could cause you to have an asthma attack.
If you suffer from asthma, strong cleaning products should be avoided. Many of the chemicals in cleaning products can trigger asthma symptoms or attacks. If you have the job of cleaning your house, you should safer, natural products.
What triggers your asthma? Learning about your type of asthma will help you to deal with it. Those whose asthma is exacerbated by exercise will know to always have an inhaler on hand. If you know and understand your asthma triggers, you can better avoid and handle attacks.
As a chronic disease, asthma must be managed continuously. Make sure you are taking the right medications to control your everyday asthma symptoms, and have a quick relief medication on hand if you have an attack. Speak to an allergist and doctor to see what’s best for you.
To keep your child healthy, make sure they are never around smoke. Secondhand smoke is a huge health risk and directly plays a role in why people develop asthma. Also, do not let your child around others who smoke.
When you suffer a medium-intensity attack, try and forcefully exhale all air from your lungs. Exhale quickly and forcefully. Really expel the air from your lungs! Take in three breaths, and then a deeper breath until your lungs are full of air. Then exhale with force again. This technique develops a breathing rhythm, allowing you to notice the breaths that you take in. It also keeps air flowing out of the lung,s so that you can refill them. This breathing technique may cause some coughing or sputum, but it can help regulate your breathing and reduce the attack.
If you are suffering from asthma, it is essential that you quit smoking cigarettes. Smoking is unhealthy for anyone, but it is especially dangerous for someone with asthma. This is because your lungs and airway are already compromised by your condition.
If the room that you’re in is dusty, do not turn on a fan. This will cause the dust to move around, which could cause an asthma attack. Open a window instead to get the air flowing.
Learn what triggers your asthma so that you can avoid it. For some people, this is allergy related; things like pollen and dust can start an attack. Others find themselves suffering from attacks when they overexert themselves. Determine what your trigger is so you can easily avoid an attack.
Talk to a social worker if you do not have health insurance and need medication for your asthma. It is critical that every asthma sufferer have access to the proper medicines to keep the condition under control, and a social worker could help you locate a hospital or clinic that will provide you the necessary medication on a low or no-fee basis.
Make sure that you and your loved ones get a flu vaccination yearly. Asthma sufferers need to be careful and guard against any upper-resperatory illnesses. The easiest way to start is by performing routine hand-washing, limiting your touching of surfaces while in public places, and getting vaccinations recommended by your doctor.
Be sure you and your family members get a yearly flu vaccination. Respiratory infections can seriously hurt those who suffer from asthma, so take measures to avoid contracting them. You can start by taking simple precautions, such as washing your hands and getting proper vaccinations when due.
Think about buying a dehumidifier if your asthma symptoms are bad. A dehumidifier will reduce attacks by taking extra humidity and, by extension, dust mites and other debris out of your air. Try running a dehumidifier to dry up the air in your home.
If you suffer from asthma, be sure your diet includes lots of Vitamins C and E. There is some evidence that these two vitamins can improve breathing and lower the frequency of asthma attacks. It doesn’t matter if you get the vitamins for food or a supplement; just get them. These vitamins can improve your immune system to prevent asthma triggers.
If someone in your home has asthma, make sure to keep a clean house, especially their bedroom so that the risk of an attack is reduced. Also, you should keep food confined to the kitchen, and opt to smoke outdoors only. Air the house out thoroughly after cleaning and avoid the use of bleach and other harsh chemicals indoors.
It has been shown that use of four or more different kinds of cleaning products can raise the risk of asthma attacks. Try organic cleaners that are free of irritating chemicals.
When dealing with hay fever or a cold, you will notice an increase in your asthma symptoms. 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.
When you travel, your rescue medication should be with you all the time. Traveling to different places might expose you to unexpected triggers, as your body is put under more strain when you travel. It is also difficult to control your environment while traveling, making it more likely that you may experience an attack or worsening symptoms.
Attend your regular asthma checkups, even if things seem to be going well. You can never tell when an attack will strike, or when your physician may have some better or safer advice for you to follow.
Your home can be full of the major triggers leading to an asthma attack. These include mold, dust and spores. To reduce asthma attacks and stay healthy, have an inspector remove any harmful agents yearly. Also, cleaning your house can help with this buildup.
Although it is wise to use your inhaler as needed, be aware that the medication itself may cause problems with gums and teeth. One effective way in preventing these side effects and problems is to brush and gargle right away after you use your inhaler.
Mold and mildew can thrive in a humid home environment. They are a nuisance for people with asthma; the asthma attacks they trigger require you to eliminate them. Therefore, you should always strive to maintain a dry home. Use a dehumidifier during the winter time so that you can keep humidity in control when you use a heater. You can use the air conditioning in your household during summer time to get the same affect.
Rescue Inhaler
In the winter, cover your mouth and nose with a scarf or shawl to prevent asthma attacks. Filtering and warming air before you inhale it can help prevent asthma attacks. Cold air can be a nuisance and breathing it has actually proven to trigger asthma attacks. This is especially true for younger children who have severe or moderate asthma.
Keep track of the number of times per week you use your rescue inhaler. Using it two times or may may mean that your asthma is not as controlled as you may think it is. It could also mean that something else is bringing on these frequent attacks. How often you use your rescue inhaler should serve as a reminder that your environment needs to be monitored.
Asthma is a disease that effects the respiratory system, and can take many years to develop, often times going undetected. In some cases, people do not even know they might have a chance of an asthma attack and their first one proves fatal. So, if you are having trouble coughing and breathing, talk to a doctor to see if you need treatment. You might receive a prescription to treat or prevent asthma.
When cleaning your house, clean floors with a wet mop instead of a broom. Sweeping can stir up some asthmatic triggers that will exacerbate your symptoms. In the same vein, choose a damp rag as opposed to a feather duster when dusting, as this prevents dust from flying about.
When you fly, make sure to take along prescriptions or doctors’ notes for all of your asthma equipment and medications, especially if they are unusual. You’ll speed up the process of going through security if you have written proof that shows that the items are necessary.
Make sure you are going to different doctors. 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. The allergists, pulmonologists and nutritionists in asthma centers can help you take full advantage of all treatments available.
Your bed linens are where pollen, dust and other allergens like to collect. You can avoid this by making sure to wash your bed linens in hot water at least once a week. You will breathe easier at night when you have freshly washed and clean bed linens.
Stay Indoors
To make sure all of your medical needs are being met, you will need to consult at least two doctors. Your primary physician should always be your first stop when dealing with asthma, but you may find it helpful to add a specialist’s knowledge. Think about going to a pulmonologist, an allergist or even a nutritionist, depending on what is triggering your attacks.
Sufferers from asthma should stay indoors when the pollen count rises. Despite being different conditions, asthma and allergies can be triggered by the same kinds of irritants. Many areas provide air quality information publicly, allowing you to stay indoors when the air outside is poor.
If you use your rescue inhaler more than two times a week, see a doctor to have your medication adjusted. Frequent need of an inhaler is an indication that the medication prescribed is not the right strength. Similarly, if you need to purchase refill inhalers more than twice a year, your medication is ineffective.
If you have asthma, you must know how to use your inhaler properly. You can’t just spray into your mouth and softly inhale. Every time you spray the inhaler, be sure to breathe the mist in deeply and hold it for a a few moments. Without proper breathing techniques with your inhaler, your symptoms will worsen.
Speaking to your peers, who also suffer from asthma, can be an eye-opening and life-changing experience. Understanding what other people do to control and manage their asthma can be helpful in treating your own asthma. Support from those you are around is crucial.
Consider purchasing a breathing mask that filters out paint fumes if a painting project is in your future. Not surprisingly, paint fumes are a known irritant for asthma. Specially designed masks can filter out these fumes. Do not go use certain chemicals that will make your asthma worse.
Asthma can be triggered by environmental factors such as allergens, or it could be genetic. If your family has a history of asthma, pay special attention to any respiratory symptoms that may indicate that you or a family member is developing asthma. Things in the environment like smoke, mold, dust and pollution can aggravate asthma. It is important to keep your family and self away from these things.
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.
If you or someone in your family suffers from asthma, you must not permit smoking in your house, your vehicle and your immediate environment. People who smoke need to do it away from the vicinity of the house, and especially away from a person with asthma. If someone smokes quite a bit they can cause asthma attacks from the smell of the smoke on their clothes.