Working around the possibility of an asthma attack is tough, but it is possible to live a relatively normal life, even with asthma. There are a number of ways to make sure that asthma doesn’t interfere with your life. The following hints and tips can help you maximize your enjoyment of life, while minimizing the effects of your asthma.
What triggers your asthma? If you know as much as you can about the kind of asthma that you have, you can find out how to battle it day-by-day. Those whose asthma is exacerbated by exercise will know to always have an inhaler on hand. By knowing the pattern to your symptoms it will be a big help to you avoiding crises.
You need to make sure that you do not smoke and that you stay away from a lot of fumes and vapors if you suffer from asthma. This means you need to keep away from tobacco products and only seek out jobs where you aren’t exposed to any harmful chemicals, smoke or vapors.
Cleaning products can trigger an asthma attack, so try to keep your exposure to them to a minimum. Cleaning products are often full of chemicals, and breathing those chemicals in can irritate your lungs. Use natural cleaners instead of chemical cleaners to reduce your chances of asthma attacks after cleaning.
Avoid the things that trigger your asthma. Allergens such as dust and pollen can bring on an asthma attack at any time. Others find themselves suffering from attacks when they overexert themselves. It is important to determine what triggers your asthma attacks so you can try to avoid those things.
If you’re in a dustier room, avoid turning on a fan. This could trigger an asthma attack because this will move the dust around. The better way would be to open a window to increase the airflow in the room.
Heart Disease
When you are having a difficult time with asthma, you might want to use a leukotriene inhibitor. Leukotriene inhibitors block the effects of leukotrienes. Leukotrienes are inflammation-causing chemicals that can bring on asthma attacks. Taking an inhibitor will reduce the amount of this substance your body produces, which should decrease the number of attacks you experience.
There are some medications that may contribute to asthma symptoms. Some NSAIDs and aspirins will do this for you. Beta blockers, such as those used to control high blood pressure or heart disease may also have this effect. If you have asthma paired with heart disease or high blood pressure, tell your doctor.
Get a flu shot every season and make sure your family does as well. If you have asthma, it’s important to prevent all respiratory infections, if at all possible. 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.
Asthma is an ongoing disease and requires ongoing health management. 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. Discuss treatment strategies with both your primary care physician and your allergist.
If you suffer from asthma, avoid smokers, even if you do not smoke yourself. When you breathe in smoke, especially in small spaces, it diminishes breathing ability, which greatly increases the probability of an asthma attack.
Never turn on a fan when the room you are in is very dusty. A fan will spread dust and debris all over. This can very easily aggravate your asthma, and cause serious symptoms. Instead, you should consider opening a window to get some fresh clean air going through your lungs.
A yearly flu shot is necessary if you suffer from asthma. You can ward off a great number of these infections by having annual vaccinations.
If your asthma attacks are severe, you may want to speak with your doctor about a long lasting injection of medication to control your symptoms. An excellent antibody medication that works well to control asthma symptoms, brought on by allergic reactions is called Omalizumab, and can be administered by your allergist.
Understand what things make your asthma flare and avoid these things or manage the symptoms. If you have asthma, it’s most likely triggered by things such as being around animals or pollen. Most asthmatics also can’t tolerate smoke. Whenever you can, just steer clear of these triggers when you know what they would result in.
Social Worker
There is good reason to make sure you have your rescue medicine for asthma in a convenient, easy to reach place. Travel adds stress on your physical body, and it might increase your chances of falling prey to asthma triggers. While on the road, it is also hard to control the environment you are in, which also makes an attack more likely.
If you are an asthma sufferer and are denied health insurance, talk to a social worker. You must have the ability to afford your medication, so a social worker might be able to locate a hospital or clinic that can offer them at little cost or free.
Even if your asthma is not acting up, attend all of your doctor’s appointments. It is important to make sure your condition isn’t worsening, and your doctor may want to prescribe a different medication.
If you are an asthma sufferer, be sure to get the recommended daily dose of Vitamins C and E. These particular vitamins are believed to better your lung function and help manage your symptoms of asthma. You can gain vitamins from supplements or the old fashioned way, from food! Getting enough vitamins is also a good way to prevent asthma attacks by boosting your immune system.
Most homes are full of common asthma triggers. Some triggers include spores, dust and mold. Having your house inspected yearly is a good way to reduce the presence of these asthma triggers. In addition, regularly cleaning the home can stop these things from building up.
If you suffer from asthma, don’t expose yourself to secondhand smoke. Tobacco smoke can bring on an asthma attack, especially within areas without good air flow. The smoke restricts the ability of your lungs to breathe, making an attack much more likely to occur.
Be sure to thoroughly understand how to utilize asthma medication correctly, particularly any rescue medication. A treatment made up of a daily medication plus a rescue inhaler can help to keep asthma under control. It’s important to use both forms of medication properly to treat your chronic condition.
Keep your home free of dust and other triggers, especially where the person who suffers from asthma sleeps. Do not allow smoking in your house, and keep food in your kitchen. Air the house out thoroughly after cleaning and avoid the use of bleach and other harsh chemicals indoors.
If you are flying with your asthma medications, especially a large piece of equipment such as a nebulizer, be sure to bring along a written prescription from your doctor. Without a written prescription stating that the item is medically necessary, you may experience frustration and delays at security checkpoints.
When you are traveling, make sure you have a rescue inhaler with you. When you travel, you sometimes strain your body a little more than you think, which can make you a bit more susceptible to having asthma attacks. Traveling can make asthma symptoms worse, and it is difficult, nearly impossible to control environmental triggers during travel.
Pay attention to how often you reach for your asthma inhaler each week. If you find that you are relying on it more than two times a week, your asthma is possibly not being well-controlled. You can use your frequency of inhaler use to gauge the effectiveness of your asthma treatment plan and make modifications when necessary.
Emergency Medication
Get a second opinion. Your family doctor or primary care physician can be the person you go to regularly for asthma symptoms, but also talk to a few specialists. Allergists, asthma centers, pulmonologists, and even nutritionists can work with you to make sure you are taking advantage of all avenues of treatment.
Be sure you understand how to use your asthma medication, especially emergency medication. Asthma typically is treated so that the sufferer has a regular maintenance medication, but is also prescribed a rescue medication, like an inhaler. Because asthma has no cure, you must treat it carefully by taking your maintenance medication every day and using your emergency medication responsibly.
If you have asthma and allergies and use a humidifier, make sure it is thoroughly cleaned as often as necessary. Permitting bacteria to grow inside the appliance will result in irritants being dispersed into the air you breathe.
Asthma is a condition that typically will develop over a long period of time, with symptoms that are not very obvious. Some people have even died from having an asthma attack, and they didn’t even know they had asthma. 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.
Talk to your doctor about adjusting your medication if you find yourself using the inhaler 3 or more times per week. This means that the medication in your inhaler is not working well enough. This is also true if you find yourself refilling the inhaler prescription more than twice in a calendar year.
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.
It’s important to know absolutely everything you possibly can about your disease. If you know a lot about asthma, you can work towards fixing it. Look into cutting-edge treatments, and seek the best medical care you can find. Make sure to explore new and different options to keep the symptoms of your condition under control.
Instead of sweeping your floors with a broom, it is preferable to clean using a wet mop. Sweeping can cause the rise of dust and dander, which may trigger an asthma attack. You can greatly reduce this by using a wet sponge, damp rag, or moist cloth instead of your old-fashioned feather duster.
Always wear a face mask, if you are going to do any painting, in order to protect your airways from the fumes. Paint fumes are especially dangerous for asthmatic people, but a mask will prevent asthma attacks efficiently. Avoid all substances and chemicals which trigger problems with your asthma.
As you have seen in the above article, there are various solutions you can use to control or even stop asthma’s interference in your life. Asthma doesn’t have to ruin your life; make some plans on how you can effectively live with it.
Once you know what sets your asthma off, you can keep attacks from happening as frequently. A journal is a good way to identify what has triggered an attack and provides you with a simple way to keep your doctor informed. Take active steps to minimize coming into contact with elements that trigger your asthma, to help reduce your attacks.