What is Asthma?
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory condition of the small airways in your lungs, which often manifests in asthma attacks, making breathing hard. The severity of the condition can change over time, depending on various factors, including your health level and environmental factors, such as exposure to allergens like pollen or dust.
However, there are steps you can take to help manage your asthma and improve your breathing.
Managing Asthma
While you can control your asthma with medication and lifestyle choices, it is crucial to understand how to manage the condition. Asthma attacks, if not treated and managed correctly, can cause serious medical problems and, in some extreme cases, they can even be fatal.
The symptoms of asthma include:
- Wheezing
- Breathlessness
- Coughing
- A tight chest – This can feel as though you have a tight band constricting your breathing.
Things You Can Do to Control Your Asthma
1.Know Your Inhalers
There are two main types of inhalers that you need to know about, if you or a loved one suffers from asthma
Reliever inhalers
These inhalers, also known as bronchodilators, open up your airways to allow you to breathe more easily when you have wheezing or asthma attacks.
Steroid inhalers
Also called preventive inhalers, they reduce inflammation in your lungs and are used as part of long-term treatment plans.
Using these regularly will improve your symptoms and reduce your chances of having an attack.
Learning the proper way to use your inhaler is also essential. If you need help using your inhaler correctly, ask your doctor or medical professional to help.
2. Use a Spacer
Spacers are plastic devices that connect to your inhaler, which you can breathe through when you use your inhaler. These devices make the medicine in your inhaler more effective and give you more time to breathe, which helps it reach the small airways in your lungs.
They also make inhalers easier to use as you don’t have to coordinate breathing in deeply at the same time you press your inhaler, as you do when using an inhaler without a spacer. For this reason, they are also better for children who have to use an inhaler too.
3. Identify any allergy triggers you may have.
Many people with asthma have specific things that trigger their symptoms, including things they are allergic to, such as pollen or dust. Try to work out what substances trigger your symptoms.
Keep a diary of what you are around when you notice your symptoms worsening to see if there are any common factors you can spot. If you don’t notice any common patterns, give your diary to a medical professional who can help you identify triggers.
4. Get Your Vaccines
Asthma can make catching other respiratory diseases much more severe. The best way to avoid catching these diseases in the first place is to get vaccinations to build up your immunity safely.
It’s a good idea to ensure you get regular seasonal vaccinations for diseases such as the flu or COVID-19 and a one-off injection of the pneumococcal vaccine.
Lifestyle Changes to Improve Your Breathing
While it’s essential to know how to manage your symptoms, lifestyle changes can significantly reduce your symptoms and chances of attack and improve your breathing.
1. Exercise Regularly
Exercise shouldn’t trigger your symptoms once you are on regular treatment. Far from it, in fact. Instead, regular exercise can help open your airways, improving your breathing.
2. Eat a Healthy Diet
Try to get a healthy diet with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. It is also essential to watch your weight, as being overweight or obese makes it harder to breathe and makes it more likely that you will have an attack.
3. Stop Smoking
If you are a smoker, the biggest thing that you can do to improve your breathing (and your health in general) is to quit smoking.
Getting Regular Checkups
Asthma is affected by a lot of different factors. Managing your medicines and learning how to take your treatments, getting your vaccinations and making healthy lifestyle choices can take time to master. However, you aren’t alone when it comes to managing your asthma, and medical professionals such as your GP are always available to help.
If you need help with any aspects of your asthma treatment, please seek help by booking an appointment with your local GP or arranging a private GP appointment. Finally, remember that even if you aren’t having symptoms and you seem to be managing your condition, it is still critical to have regular checkups with your doctor to ensure you stay on the right path.
