Asthma is a prevalent chronic disease that affects millions of people across the globe. According to the American Academy of Asthma, about 10% of Americans have asthma. This chronic disease affects the lungs and airways.
The common symptoms include persistent episodes of wheezing, difficulty breathing, coughing, and recurrent chest tightness. While asthma cannot be cured, it can be managed. For instance, you can self-inject yourself with an automatic injector device to relieve asthma symptoms.
With that said, let’s look at ways you can manage asthma.
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Avoid environmental allergens and smoking tobacco
Always keep your home free of dust and allergens as much as possible. This can help manage your asthma symptoms. Here are things you need to do to keep your home free of environmental allergens:
- Dust and vacuum your house to get rid of dust
- Use air conditioners to minimize the amount of pollen in the air inside your house
- Use beddings that are allergen-free to limit your exposure to allergens when sleeping
- Do not smoke inside your house
Exercise to boost your overall health
Certain health conditions, such as obesity and heart disease can cause asthma. Regular exercising is crucial as it can help control weight, manage asthma, and relieve allergy symptoms. Before you start with your exercise routine, you need to talk to your doctor. The doctor can help you determine if you are indeed in a good shape to exercise. He or she will also recommend some of the exercises that are suitable for you. A 30-minutes exercise daily is ideal to make you stay active.
Activities, such as swimming, biking, running, walking, rebounding are the best exercises that can boost your health. Avoid exercising when the level of allergens, such as mold, weed, and pollen is high.
Eat a healthy diet
Another perfect way to manage your asthma is by eating a healthy diet. That’s because a healthy diet can help boost your overall health, helping you manage asthma. Asthma patients should eat a well-balanced diet of three meals and two snacks daily to help keep their asthma symptoms and weight in check. Avoid foods that may trigger asthma symptoms as well. Foods that contain sulfites, such as dried fruits, pickles, and wine, are known to worsen asthma symptoms, so avoid them as much as you can.
Limit your exposure to environmental triggers
Asthma can worsen if a patient is exposed to environmental elements, such as dust or pollen. So by limiting your exposure to these triggers, you can manage your asthma and prevent future attacks. The best ways to limit your exposure to environmental triggers include reducing the amount of dust in your house by cleaning or vacuuming regularly to remove dust, mold spores, and pollen. You should also cool your home with an AC to reduce the amount of pollen in the air inside your house.
See a doctor
Finally, the best way you can manage your asthma is by seeing your doctor regularly. This makes it easier for the doctor to review your treatment and even monitor how you are progressing. Visit a doctor whenever your symptoms get worse or if you are finding it hard to manage the symptoms.