|
More than 17
million people in the US alone suffer from asthma, a serious
lung ailment, resulting in 5,000 asthma deaths a year. Asthma
is an allergic inflammation of the lungs, which is generally
triggered by pollens, molds, dust, animal dander, air
pollution, chemicals, exercise, temperature changes or
ingestion of certain foods.
During an asthma attack the walls of the lungs become inflamed
and the mucus membranes fill with fluid and thick, sticky
mucus making it difficult to breathe. Asthma symptoms can
include a scratchy throat, coughing, shortness of breath,
wheezing and a tight feeling in the chest. An asthma attack
can be mild, moderate or severe and lasting for a few minutes,
hours, or even several days.
Knowing when to get emergency help for a severe attack can
save your life. If you are experiencing the following, you
should seek immediate medical attention:
-your medication does not control your symptoms
-you have extreme difficulty breathing, talking and walking,
-your fingernails or lips are turning blue,
-your chest feels tight and your ribs are pulled inward as you
breathe,
-your nostrils flare when you breathe
The key to
understanding and controlling asthma is to know yourself. One
person may get a severe asthma reaction from a slight whiff of
perfume, while another asthma sufferer has no reaction at all
to the very same trigger.
Everyone who suffers from asthma
is unique and is effected differently, there are several
variables to consider:
-
asthma
triggers and allergies
-
living and
work environment
-
general state
of health and immune system
-
stress levels
-
nutrition and
diet
-
geographical
location and climate
Quite often
things that we have eaten, used or are a part of our
environment for years can suddenly become asthma triggers.
Since there are so many variables involved that affect getting
control of your asthma, the first thing you should do is keep
a notebook or journal. This will help you pinpoint your
triggers. Once you know what they are, you can either remove
these triggers or reduce them as much as possible. For
example, you may be allergic to your pet without even
realizing it. My friend kept two cats for years. She often
suffered from sinus congestion, but never connected it to the
cats. Eventually she developed asthma, so she started to keep
a journal and began to see a pattern - she eventually realized
that every time she washed and groomed her cats, she had an
asthma attack. She was reluctant to admit this since they were
like her own children to her, but through her journal it
became obvious that cat dander was a major trigger. Since she
really didn't want to get rid of her cats, she was able to
take several measures to minimize her exposure to the cat
dander. One of these was to take her cats to a pet groomer
instead of doing it herself. This change, combined with a few
other measures helped to prevent further asthma attacks.
Some people have
both food and environmental triggers or allergies that they
are unaware of. This can make determining specific triggers
and controlling asthma symptoms much more complex, so keeping
a journal is important. If you find that you are feeling
asthmatic after consuming some food or drink, one of those
items could be the culprit, but since you have also eaten
several things during the day, it's not always easy to know
exactly what it was that caused the problem. If you record
details of everything that was eaten each time you experienced
asthma symptoms, you'll see a pattern developing, which will
help you to discover exactly what your trigger is. Once you
determine your triggers, you can then start to eliminate them
or minimize them as much as possible. This will help bring
your asthma under control and help reduce your asthma
symptoms. Combining these measures with a good diet, stress
reduction and natural supplements that help eliminate
asthma
and allergy symptoms will ensure an active, healthy life.
Visit
Dramatic Asthma Relief Report
|