For an asthmatic, breathing can be hard work, but it doesn’t have to be. A few simple changes each day keep huffing and puffing away!
So, what exactly is asthma anyway?
Asthma affects the breathing tubes called airways or bronchi. An asthma attack sends the muscles surrounding the airways into spasm, squishing them from the outside. To make matters worse, the body mounts a counter attack from inside by swelling up the lining of the airways, and producing thick, sticky mucous. All these factors make it difficult for air to pass through the lungs, and very challenging to breathe. The air trying to squeeze through a much smaller space and shouting “let me in” and “let me out” causes the wheezing, and the coughing is your body’s way of trying to get rid of the sticky stuff.
So now that you know what’s causing all the trouble, what can you do to fix it? Follow these three simple tips to keep your asthma in check:
Identify what is irritating you… and then stay away from it.
No, we don’t mean your mom, your lecturer or your housemate! We mean what’s irritating your airways. Although every person has different triggers, some of the most common include allergens, such as dust mites, pollens, moulds, pet dander, and even cockroaches. Irritants in the air can also take your breath away, like household sprays, paints and the biggie: cigarette smoke.
Once you’ve identified what it is that sets your chest into overdrive, avoid it! If it’s dust, make sure your home is a dust- free one, if it’s smoke, steer clear of smokers and if it’s your furry friend, wash them more often and limit couch cuddling time!
Take your medication
If you take medication to control your asthma, stick with the programme. If you feel better and have absolutely no asthma symptoms, it means that the medication is working, not that you have been cured! Even though asthma tends to be more common amongst kids, it seems to be very unlikely that you can ever really outgrow it. Your asthma can get better, or worse, over time, but for most people, asthma is with you for good. The medications used to control asthma are safe, effective and non-addictive. Using them as prescribed will literally be a breath of fresh air.
Stay healthy: eat, move, sleep
The number one trigger for an asthma attack is a lung infection, like a cold or the flu. To avoid these, do your best to keep up a healthy lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle doesn’t have to be complicated, it can be summed up by three things:
- eat a balanced diet
- exercise regularly
- sleep 7 – 8 hours a night
Focusing on these aspects of your lifestyle will go a long way in keeping your airways open! Secondly, make sure you have a flu vaccination each year… unlike most jabs, this one has to be done regularly to keep up with those quick changing flu germs!
Karen Heath, PhD – for HelloDoctor.com