Lifestyle changes
Drink lots of water. Here's another reason to down at least eight glasses of water daily: It keeps airways clearer by loosening mucus.
Keep indoor air dry. Reduce humidity below 50 percent. Using as dehumidifier or air conditioner also keeps the dust mite population down. Just be sure to change or clean filters often.
THE EXERCISE PARADOX
If you have asthma, exercise often helps. On the other hand, sometimes, it makes matters worse. Up to 80% of people with asthma experience what's called exercise-induced asthma, meaning strenuous activity can trigger an attack. Some people (including top international athletes) have only exercise-induced asthma and never have symptoms unless they're exercising.
Typically, with exercise-induced asthma, within 5 to 20 minutes of starting vigorous exercise, you may have difficulty breathing, chest tightness, coughing and even chest pain. Sometimes symptoms don't appear until after the workout.
Does this mean you shouldn't exercise if you have asthma? Certainly not. Doctors agree that exercise can be beneficial for people with asthma, as long as it's done sensibly (just check with your doctor first). A few tips:
Childhood asthma
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Since 1981, asthma rates have increased more than 160 percent in children under age five, and 74 percent in children between five and fourteen. About one child in five has asthma, usually in the mild form, making asthma the most common chronic illness in children. Fully four-fifths of them develop it before they're five years old. So, be on the lookout for the following warning signs especially if you, your spouse or both of you have asthma (remember, there's a strong genetic link here):
Don't smoke. And stay away from people who do. Secondhand smoke can trigger asthma attacks and increase the risk of getting asthma. A swedish study of 8000 adults found that 7.6 percent of those who were exposed to secondhand smoke growing up had ashtma, compared to 5.9 percent of those who grew up smoke-free.
Bundle up. Wintry air can trigger asthma. So cover your nose and mouth with a scarf, which helps warm the air you're breathing.
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ASTHMA TRIGGERS
Common triggers for asthma include:
Stress and extreme emotions can trigger asthma, so it's important to find ways to remain calm. One study showed that yoga meditation may help the effectiveness of asthma drugs. A group of people with asthma, who continued to experience symptoms while taking preventive medication, improved after practising Sahaja yoga for four months. This form of Indian meditation teaches how to attain 'mental silence', a state of being alert without specific, focused thoughts. Lung tests showed that those doing the yoga were less susceptible to asthma triggers than those who practised other relaxation techniques. The benefits disappeared two months after the yoga was stopped.
Acupunture may help improve short-term lung function, although the scientific evidence is less than conclusive. In one controlled study, however, nearly 50 percent of the asthma patients who did guided imagery were able to decrease, or even discontinue, their medication, compared to just 18 percent of the control group.
Certain foods can also help you control system better. Researchers in the UK found that people who ate at least two apples a week had up to a 32 percent lower asthma risk than those who ate fewer.
They also discovered that those who had at least 55 mcg of the mineral selenium each day--the daily value--were about half as likely to have asthma as those who consumed only 30 mcg or less. Selenium is found in such foods as Brazil nuts, fish, oysters and sunflower seeds. Researchers believe that antioxidants like vitamin C boost lung health, and may help lower the risk of asthma.
Drink lots of water. Here's another reason to down at least eight glasses of water daily: It keeps airways clearer by loosening mucus.
Keep indoor air dry. Reduce humidity below 50 percent. Using as dehumidifier or air conditioner also keeps the dust mite population down. Just be sure to change or clean filters often.
THE EXERCISE PARADOX
If you have asthma, exercise often helps. On the other hand, sometimes, it makes matters worse. Up to 80% of people with asthma experience what's called exercise-induced asthma, meaning strenuous activity can trigger an attack. Some people (including top international athletes) have only exercise-induced asthma and never have symptoms unless they're exercising.
Typically, with exercise-induced asthma, within 5 to 20 minutes of starting vigorous exercise, you may have difficulty breathing, chest tightness, coughing and even chest pain. Sometimes symptoms don't appear until after the workout.
Does this mean you shouldn't exercise if you have asthma? Certainly not. Doctors agree that exercise can be beneficial for people with asthma, as long as it's done sensibly (just check with your doctor first). A few tips:
- Choose the right activity. Swimming and water aerobics are excellent. Walking, hiking, cycling and downhill skiing are also less likely to trigger exercise--induced asthma.
- Warm up and cool down. If you're going to do vigorous activities, warm up thoroughly and take time to cool down. This helps prevent sudden changes in the temperature and humidity of the air you're breathing in. Especially in cold weather, breathing through your mouth speeds cold, dry air to your lower airways, which can trigger an attack.
- Medicate before exercising. Inhaling a short-acting beta2-agonist bronchodilator spray 15 minutes before exercise can usually prevent attacks. Some may need to use longer-acting anti-inflammatory medications.
Childhood asthma
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Since 1981, asthma rates have increased more than 160 percent in children under age five, and 74 percent in children between five and fourteen. About one child in five has asthma, usually in the mild form, making asthma the most common chronic illness in children. Fully four-fifths of them develop it before they're five years old. So, be on the lookout for the following warning signs especially if you, your spouse or both of you have asthma (remember, there's a strong genetic link here):
- Coughing. Could be constant, sporadic or recurring.
- Wheezing. A whistling sound as your child exhales.
- Shortness of breath. After playing, does your child seem more out-of-breath than the other children?
Don't smoke. And stay away from people who do. Secondhand smoke can trigger asthma attacks and increase the risk of getting asthma. A swedish study of 8000 adults found that 7.6 percent of those who were exposed to secondhand smoke growing up had ashtma, compared to 5.9 percent of those who grew up smoke-free.
Bundle up. Wintry air can trigger asthma. So cover your nose and mouth with a scarf, which helps warm the air you're breathing.
-
ASTHMA TRIGGERS
Common triggers for asthma include:
- Infections. If you catch a viral infection you may need to alter your preventive medications. To control your asthma, bacterial infections should be treated with antibiotics.
- Exercise. At least 80% of people with asthma have symptoms with vigorous exercise.
- Drugs such as beta-blockers, aspirin and complementary medicines such as Royal jelly can cause symptoms.
- Emotion, especially anxiety and stress.
- Food allergy and intolerance. Examples include nuts, shellfish, milk, eggs and MSG.
- Reflux heartburn. Stomach acid refluxed into the airways can cause spasm of bronchi.
- Irritants such as cigarette smoke, air pollution and pain fumes.
- Occupational factors such as wood dusts, laboratory animals and flour.
- Temperature changes.
Stress and extreme emotions can trigger asthma, so it's important to find ways to remain calm. One study showed that yoga meditation may help the effectiveness of asthma drugs. A group of people with asthma, who continued to experience symptoms while taking preventive medication, improved after practising Sahaja yoga for four months. This form of Indian meditation teaches how to attain 'mental silence', a state of being alert without specific, focused thoughts. Lung tests showed that those doing the yoga were less susceptible to asthma triggers than those who practised other relaxation techniques. The benefits disappeared two months after the yoga was stopped.
Acupunture may help improve short-term lung function, although the scientific evidence is less than conclusive. In one controlled study, however, nearly 50 percent of the asthma patients who did guided imagery were able to decrease, or even discontinue, their medication, compared to just 18 percent of the control group.
Certain foods can also help you control system better. Researchers in the UK found that people who ate at least two apples a week had up to a 32 percent lower asthma risk than those who ate fewer.
They also discovered that those who had at least 55 mcg of the mineral selenium each day--the daily value--were about half as likely to have asthma as those who consumed only 30 mcg or less. Selenium is found in such foods as Brazil nuts, fish, oysters and sunflower seeds. Researchers believe that antioxidants like vitamin C boost lung health, and may help lower the risk of asthma.
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