It’s more important now than ever before that someone with asthma receive proper treatment. New medications and therapies are being created to treat the symptoms of asthma. It’s now the time to discover what works for you as you battle asthma. Here are some tips that you can use to get you started with finding the help you need.
Do all you can to learn not just about asthma, but your particular asthma. Before you can develop a self-care plan for your asthma symptoms, you need to know the specific cause of your symptoms. For example, if you have exercise-induced asthma, you will want to always make sure you have an inhaler in your gym bag. You can avoid a crisis by knowing your symptoms’ patterns.
Do not smoke around your children if they have asthma. There’s a long list of environmental asthma triggers, and secondhand smoke is at the top of it. It’s best to also keep your child away from places in which others will be smoking.
Smoking should never be done around children, especially a child who suffers from asthma. One leading cause of issues in children who have asthma is that people smoke around them. You should take care to also make sure your child does not get exposed to other environments where people might be smoking.
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 aggressively, as hard as you can. Really expel the air from your lungs! Then, follow three short intakes of breath with one longer inhalation until your lungs are filled with air, although not uncomfortably so. Finally, expel the air from your lungs with force again. This gives your breathing a rhythm, which makes you aware of how many breaths you take. It also pushes the air out of your lungs, so that more air can come in. You may generate sputum or cough but that is alright, since your main objective is getting you to breathe normally again.
If you are afficted with asthma, it is critical to quit smoking and avoid the use of any other tobacco products. Smoking is a terrible habit but it’s even worse for someone who suffers from asthma as it decreases the amount of oxygen that gets to your lungs.
Don’t turn on the fan if the dust in a room is aggravating your asthma. Dust blown around by fans can cause your asthma to rear up. If possible, open a window to increase the flow of air into the room.
You need to avoid all of the asthma triggers that you know. For some, allergens such as dust and pollen can trigger an attack. Others find themselves suffering from attacks when they overexert themselves. You should know what causes asthma, so you can stay away from these things.
Talk to your doctor about getting a leukotriene inhibitor if you have asthma. There are modern medicines that are highly effective at blocking leukotrienes. Leukotriene, a chemical substance, can cause asthma attacks by causing inflammation. This inhibitor can prevent leukotrienes, which makes you less likely to have an asthma attack.
During a mild to moderate attack, force all of the air out of your lungs. Breathe out aggressively, as hard as you can. Forcefully push the air out from your lungs. Breathe in by taking three quick breaths, followed by one very deep breath. Doing this will fill your lungs completely, and allow you to expel the air forcefully again. This will create a rhythm and will help you be aware of the way you are breathing. This is a good way to empty your lungs and let more air come in. This may cause you to cough or it may cause phlegm, but your breathing will be back to normal again.
Proper knowledge of how to use your inhaler is necessary if you have asthma. An inhaler is most effective if used in a relaxed location and according to the maker’s instructions. You can inhale all you want, but it’s useless if the medication doesn’t make it to your lungs. While taking a deep breath, spray in the recommended dosage. Then hold it and try not to breathe for a minimum of 10 seconds. This will give enough time for the medication to properly fill out your lungs.
Use the inhaler the right way. Find a comfy spot, and follow the manufacturer’s instructions. The inhaler only helps if the medication reaches your lungs. While taking a deep breath, spray in the recommended dosage. Hold your breath at least ten seconds, so that the medicated mist can fill your lungs.
Social Worker
If you have asthma and cannot afford health insurance or have no eligibility, bring up your situation with a social worker. It is essential that you can buy your asthma medicine, and a social worker might help you find a hospital or clinic that can provide your medicine at reduced cost, or free.
If you have asthma and cannot get health insurance, see 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.
If you are dealing with asthma, make sure you take lots of Vitamins E and C. These vitamins help reduce asthma flare-ups by improving lung function. These vitamins can be easily obtained, either through your diet or a supplement. Vitamins C and E are necessary for a healthy immune system. If your immune system isn’t healthy, it won’t be able to fight off illnesses that cause asthma attacks.
Make sure that you and your loved ones get a flu vaccination yearly. When you are afflicted with asthma, steer as clear as you can of all types of respiratory infections. Take the right steps to stop yourself from getting sick, wash your hands and get the right vaccines.
Think about buying a dehumidifier if your asthma symptoms are bad. A reduction in humidity will also lessen the amount of dust mites in your home. This lessens the chance of an asthma flare up. A dehumidifier works to dry the air by removing moisture.
Your asthma medication may need to be adjusted if you become ill. Many of these illnesses will worsen your asthma symptoms bad enough to require more treatments than you typically need. Your physician might also add more treatments to your regimen until your asthma is under control again.
If you’ve been diagnosed with asthma, be sure to get flu shots every year. This is doubly important for asthmatic children. Get yearly vaccinations to keep these potential infections at bay.
Look into becoming a part of a support group. There are many to choose from both online and offline. Since severe asthma can be quite debilitating, it can have a huge impact on your everyday life. Also, communicating with other people with asthma will keep you in the know about changes in how the condition is understood and treated.
Even if you seem to be fine, see your doctor regularly for your asthma checkups. You don’t know when another flare-up will happen, or when your physician can offer you safer or superior medicine for your symptoms.
Don’t smoke. The dangers surrounding smoking are well documented, but for asthma sufferers the issues can be much more serious. A person with asthma has sensitive lungs that can react adversely to smoke, causing an asthmatic attack. So an asthmatic should not even be in a room where other people are smoking.
During cold months, you could avoid asthma attacks by constantly wearing a shawl, muffler or a scarf that covers both your mouth and nose. This lets the air warm slightly before you breathe it in. By breathing in cold air, it has been proven that it could trigger an asthma attack more so in children that are younger and suffer from severe to moderate asthma.
If you are using a vaporizer or humidifier, you should thoroughly clean it prior to use. Bacteria can grow inside the machine because of the moist environment, and you will be releasing that right into the air if you are using it.
Keep in mind that mopping your floors with a wet mop will cause less asthma problems than sweeping will. Sweeping can cause the rise of dust and dander, which may trigger an asthma attack. Dusting can actually just move the dust around, sending particles into the air, and into your lungs triggering an asthma attack, so try wiping things down with a damp cloth to minimize the amount of allergens you are exposed to.
Do all you can to educate yourself about asthma. The more you know, the more proactive you’ll be in your own treatment. Do your research, and keep current on available treatment information so you can be sure you’re doing all you can to feel well. The best thing to do is learn and research as much as you can about this condition and the treatment options that would be best for you.
If you’d like to avoid asthma attacks, avoid cigarette smoke as much as possible. Smoking can trigger a person who has asthma to have an attack. Make sure to stay away from chemical fumes and cigarette smoke whenever possible. Exposure to these substances can worsen your asthma considerably. Ask people around you not to smoke in your presence. Don’t be rude about it, but don’t be afraid to ask for what you need.
The above advice should have reinforced the idea that there are a variety of asthma treatments out there. You need to find the treatment that works for you. There is lots of information that could help you see the benefits treatments could give you. By using these guidelines, you will be on your way in having better breathing capacity.
Being around animals should be avoided. Even people that do not have allergies are prone to suffer an asthma attack from the pollen and dust on animals.