Asthma can get uncontrollable if it is left unchecked. A severe asthma attack can put you in the hospital or kill you. While you should continually consult your doctor with complications, it’s okay to try treatments yourself, as well. This article provides easy tips to help alleviate some asthma symptoms and to help you to better treat your asthma.
If you suffer from asthma, don’t smoke, and avoid exposure to secondhand smoke. 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.
Asthma Sufferer
There are many different types of asthma. You can learn to combat the life changing effects of asthma by understanding your specific type. A perfect example is that if you have asthma caused by exercise you should put a inhaler in your locker or gym bag. If you are familiar with your symptoms and their patterns, you will be better able to avoid emergencies.
If you are an asthma sufferer, it is crucial that you don’t smoke. While smoking is bad for everyone, it’s particularly hard on an asthma sufferer as it restricts oxygen getting to the lungs.
Avoid anything that could trigger your asthma. This can vary from person to person, as small particles like dust can cause asthma attacks. Others find themselves suffering from attacks when they overexert themselves. Try to figure out when your asthma began so it can be avoided.
Asthma is a disease that is continuous. As such, it requires long-term health management. It is crucial that you have the proper medications for controlling asthma, as well as medication, such as a rescue inhaler to treat sudden attacks. Your physician and allergist are the ones to approach with any questions you have about this disease and its treatment.
Certain prescription medications have the potential to cause asthma symptoms. Some anti-inflammatory drugs, such as aspirin or ibuprofen, can flare up asthma symptoms. Additionally, beta blockers, a type of medication used for heart disease and hypertension, may cause asthma symptoms. If you have any of these conditions along with your asthma, make sure you tell your doctor.
If you find that you are in a dusty room, do not put on any type of fan. This will cause the dust to move around, which could cause an asthma attack. It would be better to just open a window if you are needing to get some airflow.
Asthma is a continuous disease that needs ongoing management. Make sure that your daily routine includes taking appropriate medication to keep you free of asthma symptoms, along with additional medication to treat you for any sudden asthma attacks. Speak with an allergist or your doctor to determine the best care for you.
Social Worker
Vitamins E and C are beneficial to anyone with asthma. You can buy these vitamins to help you get better function from your lungs and control your asthma symptoms. You are able to get these vitamins either from food or a supplement. The vitamins will help improve the immune system, which will help you fight off illnesses that cause asthma.
If you have asthma and do not have health insurance, you should consider seeing a social worker. A social worker can possibly help you with finding treatment and low-cost medications.
If you’re suffering from a cold or allergies, you should talk to your doctor about taking additional asthma medication. Side effects that are associated with most illnesses can serve as triggers for asthma and may cause an increase in your asthma treatment. It is possible that your doctor will decide to modify your treatment, or even add additional treatments, until you are back on your feet.
Asthmatics should have a flu shot every year to prevent contracting a serious respiratory infection. If you have asthma, it’s important to prevent all respiratory infections, if at all possible. To do this you must take extra precautions against getting sick, like washing your hands often and getting vaccinated every year.
When you are traveling, make sure you have a rescue inhaler with you. Traveling adds strain on the body and increases your susceptibility to asthma triggers. It is often hard to maintain the right kind of environment when you are traveling, and this may heighten the risk of an asthma attack or worsening symptoms.
Take a lot of Vitamin E and C if you are suffering from asthma. These vitamins aid in improving the function of the lungs and controlling the symptoms of asthma. Many foods have these vitamins in abundance, but you can also use a supplemental pill. These vitamins will also help prevent illnesses by boosting your body’s immune system.
Find a good support group in the Internet or in your area. Asthma, particularly if it is severe, can incapacitate you and keep you from going about your daily activities. Furthermore, these groups will keep you informed about any changes in medicines or any other scientific discoveries that are relevant.
Asthmatics should avoid being exposed to smoke, regardless if you are a smoker. Tobacco smoke causes your lung function to decrease, increasing the risk of a very severe attack, especially in enclosed rooms without much air flow or ventilation.
Some common catalysts of asthma attacks regularly occur in the home. Three triggers comprise the asthma triad of doom: spores, dust and mold. Having your house inspected yearly is a good way to reduce the presence of these asthma triggers. You can help keep your house safe from these harmful substances by regularly cleaning and dusting your home.
Make sure to examine what it is that causes your asthma attacks in order to best avoid having to deal with them. There are some quite common triggers that can invoke an attack in asthma sufferers, for example cigarette smoke, pollen, or pet hair and dander. Whenever possible, avoid those substances that trigger either symptoms or full-blown attacks.
When it’s colder, wear a shawl, scarf or muffler that will cover your mouth and nose to avoid asthma attacks. This helps warm the air prior to it entering your lungs. Breathing in cold air tends to start asthma attacks, especially with younger children that have severe or moderate asthma.
Many of the most common asthma triggers are found in the home. These are dust, mold and spores. To keep your body healthy and to cut down the frequency of asthma attacks, it is important to have your house professionally inspected and cleaned to remove these harmful substances. Furthermore, thorough and frequent cleaning will ensure that allergens and other possible triggers do not accumulate in your home.
You should track how often, in a week’s time, you require the use of a rescue inhaler. 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. You are able to judge how the environment around you effects your body by how many times you need to use your inhaler.
Wear scarves, shawls and mufflers to cover your noise and mouth during colder weather. This allows you to warm air before it enters your lungs. Cool air has been known to trigger an asthma attack, particularly in very young children who have severe or moderate asthma.
For asthma sufferers having contact with pets or other animals need to be minimized. Asthmatics can be affected by the dander or pollen that comes from the animals, even if they have no allergies to them. This can be a very risky situation to put yourself in and should be avoided.
Asthma is a health condition that usually develops over a period of time, and has symptoms that may not be obvious. There are actually many people that have passed away from an asthma attack without ever knowing they were even at risk. Always consult with a doctor to see if a persistent cough or difficulty breathing is a sign that you require treatment for asthma. There may even be things you can do to prevent it from getting worse.
Always try your best to remain calm if you begin having an asthma attack. Use the inhaler, pause for 30 seconds then use it again. If this does not help and your attack gets worse, you need to get immediate medical assistance. Have someone phone an ambulance or drive you to a hospital. You can slow your breathing by placing a paper bag over your mouth and nose to slow your breathing until you get medical attention.
When you need to take your asthma supplies on an airplane, it is a good idea to bring your doctor’s prescription with you. Carrying your prescriptions along with written proof that they are medically necessary, will cut down on potential problems at the airport checkpoints.
If you are suffering from asthma, you should learn how to utilize your inhaler the right way. Spraying it into your mouth and then inhaling doesn’t work. Every time you spray the inhaler, be sure to breathe the mist in deeply and hold it for a a few moments. If you have asthma, there’s no way around it: you need to get familiar with the right method of using your inhaler.
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.
Try to gain as much information about affliction as possible. The more you know about the condition, the better you can help yourself. Stay current with treatment technology and get yourself the best care that you can. You can do this only if you learn all about your condition plus the treatment options available to you.