Asthma Attack Blog


Asthma Attack Triggers

Although in asthma the underlying airway inflammation is always there, an asthma attack can be triggered or worsened by a number of factors. There are two types of asthma attack triggers;

Allergens and Irritants

* Common asthma allergens include pollen, animals and house-dust mites.
* Common asthma irritants include cold air, cigarette smoke and chemical fumes.

An allergen is a substance that causes asthma attack symptoms by bringing about an allergic reaction. An irritant is a substance that precipitates an asthma attack by aggravating the airways.

Keeping a diary of the times and circumstances that precipitates your asthma attack or causes your asthma to worsen can help you and your doctor pinpoint exactly what your asthma triggers are. Once you have identified your asthma triggers, you can take steps to deal with them.

Showing posts with label Asthma Home Remedies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Asthma Home Remedies. Show all posts

Tuesday, 7 August 2012

Can Your Asthma Diet Cause You Asthma?

Every asthmatic person knows how difficult it is to keep up with the strict asthma diet because it simply does not allow you to eat all the fatty processed foods that are not only easy to cook but delicious to eat too. Well, since asthma is a respiratory disease, it is important for asthmatic people and their families to understand its possible triggers that could lead to the swelling of the person's airways causing them to have difficulty breathing. The food that people who have been diagnosed with asthma should be well picked and chosen to ensure that they are healthy and that they will not trigger an asthma attack.


There is no denying that a person's choice of food and drinks speak so much of the kind of lifestyle that they are living. Sadly, those who choose to eat foods that are rich in fat and cholesterol are those who are likely to develop asthma and other respiratory disease or even a heart problem. A person's diet plays a big role in his survival. In an environment where anything can happen, if a person wants to be healthy and live a normal life for a long time, it is important that he eats all the right kinds of foods. An asthmatic person's diet includes all the healthy and nutritious foods like fresh fruits and vegetables.


Did you know that asthma as a respiratory disease is actually a product of the body's allergic reactions to the food intake of the person of the environment he is exposed to? Sadly, unlike other diseases, asthma can lead to the development of more small and big health problems that pile up as a person gets older. What kinds of foods do you eat? Are you allergic to any food or drink? If you do not have an idea of the foods that you may be allergic to, it could cause a lot of trouble for asthmatic people because the moment that they eat foods that they are allergic to, they experience difficulty in breathing and the problem could elevate to something that could be worse or perhaps even fatal.


How much of the food that you are eating is healthy? You might have a hard time answering this just like everybody else because you know that you are not eating as much vegetables or fruits and that all you have been eating are processed foods. No one could blame you considering the working hours that you have to keep and the lack of time to prepare delicious yet healthy meals and you just have to settle with the foods serve in fast food chains. Although this may be true and perhaps even forgivable, this kind of diet is not helping you because you are asthmatic. In fact, the kind of diet you are keeping is filled up with fatty foods and processed meat that is totally not good.


If you want to overcome your asthma or you want to limit the possibility of having attacks, then now is the right time to change your asthma diet. Include all the foods that need to be there like vegetables and fresh fruits and exclude all those that contain fatty acids and cholesterol. When you do this, not only are you saving yourself from asthma but you are saving it from all the other terrible diseases that could put your life in great risk. Providing quality reviews, articles and writings on asthma online.

Monday, 30 July 2012

The Best Breathing Exercises For Asthmatics

The Buteyko breathing technique was created by the Russian respiratory physiologist Professor Konstantin Buteyko to treat those suffering from asthma and other respiratory disease's. The principle behind this breathing methodology is that most people suffering from respiratory illness over-breath and inhale to much air this will lower the amount of carbon dioxide inside of the human body.


Why is carbon dioxide important?


If your Co2 level is not at the required level then oxygen is just going to be carried around the bloodstream and is not made available to tissues and organs in the human body. These minimal quantities induce an increase in breathing and an even further decrease of Co2, a classic vicious circle.


Secondly carbon dioxide dilates the smooth muscle around the airways, arteries and capillaries, decreased amounts of Co2 induce these muscles to tighten. If these arterial blood vessels narrow this has the potential to trigger greater heart rate, higher blood pressure and a increased breathing level.


It in addition helps to sustain the body's PH balance which is very important in retaining a healthy immune system.


Carbon dioxide aids in the body's production of cortisol, the body's natural steroid which is needed to control inflammation.


Co2 is used in the body to reduce the production of mucus resulting in less restricted airways.


The Buteyko methodology is an exercise regime for a person's breathing, it is designed to lessen the quantity of air inhaled to assist you to retrain your own body in order to receive an increased level of carbon dioxide. The sequence is composed of a check of your pulse ahead of and following the actual exercise process, a check of what is known as the control pause and the actual breathing exercises


The control pause is actually a measurement of carbon dioxide in the alveoli dependent on a comfortable breath hold, but its not recorded right after taking a large breath of air, its taken when the air is expelled via the lungs during an ordinary breath. The lower the time you can wait after breathing out the lower the level of Co2 in the body. The desired percentage of co2 is 5.5 which in turn represents a control pause of approximately 40 seconds, a control pause of 10 seconds shows a co2 level of 4.0 percent. According to Buteyko teachers, with regular Buteyko reduced-breathing exercises, asthmatics are predicted to find that their CP over time will increase and in parallel suffer lessened asthma symptoms.


The intention of the Buteyko breathing method is to increase the levels of carbon dioxide to at least five-and-a-half per cent giving a control pause of forty seconds.


With the continuous practice of the Buteyko breathing exercises the respiratory centre should end up being able to accept a larger concentration of carbon dioxide. Remember, it is the level of carbon dioxide that decides the need to inhale.


My name is Trevor Chapman and i have been an asthma sufferer all my life. As i get older and more sedentary my asthma symptoms have worsened and my use of preventor and reliever drugs have increased.


I have been looking for a natural cure or treatment which will help me control these symptoms and have started to practice the Buteyko Breathing method. Providing quality reviews, articles and writings on asthma online.

Thursday, 19 July 2012

Why Is It Complicated To Diagnose Children With Asthma

It is always a very complicated task to diagnose someone with asthma but diagnosing a baby is much more difficult than an adult. Most of the doctors almost never diagnose asthma in babies under 2 years of age because they can't do any scientifically proven tests which could confirm this diagnosis. Only some advanced medical institutions carry out that kind of tests but most of them still have experimental status.


The methods of diagnosing your child will be different depending on how old he is. If your child is still an infant then prepare yourself for a lot of questions about his and your medical history as well as his symptoms but if your kid is more than 4 years old then it is easier to make a more precise diagnosis by the help of different tests.


There are some asthma specialists who can try to diagnose babies with asthma even if they are under 1 years of age. Even though an infant is not able to tell us about how he feels, most of the usual symptoms are clearly noticeable such as wheezing and coughing, however, there are a few problems:


Babies have small and weak airways, so they often suffer from respiratory illnesses which have very similar symptoms to asthma;
The symptoms are not the same in all asthma cases - you can even have this disease without wheezing which is usually considered as the most common sign of asthma and also you can experience wheezing without having asthma.


In short, besides the lack of testing methods, there are a lot of other factors which make this whole thing more complicated, so that is the reason why you should trust the task of diagnosing your baby to a doctor who specializes in childhood chest problems. By taking a look at the symptoms, doing physical examination and analyzing family's medical history the specialist should be able to make a precise diagnosis. In some cases it may not be possible but you have to accept that and make sure you do everything to cure your baby's health problems regardless if he has asthma or some other respiratory disease.


The usual methods that are used for diagnosing asthma are peak flow and respiratory tests but, unfortunately, it is almost impossible to successfully undergo these tests for children younger than 4 years of age. As your child grows older he will be able to take more precise lung function tests which can confirm if the earlier diagnosis was correct, so diagnosing asthma in pre-school children is much easier than in infants. If your child is already around 6 years old then you shouldn't worry about a possible inaccurate diagnosis anymore.


Miks is a 22 year old student and he loves writing articles about different health topics. You can take a look at his latest article about asthma in babies if you are interested in finding out more about the usual symptoms, triggers and treatment options. Providing quality reviews, articles and writings on asthma online.

Sunday, 8 July 2012

Adult Onset Asthma: The Unknown Causes

Adult Onset Asthma can appear at the most unexpected times. It doesn't matter if you are 20 years old or you've never had asthma before, if you're having shorter breath, swelling airway lining, frequent coughing, wheezing, and these irritating chest pains? You might be having asthma. The difference between adult onset asthma and childhood asthma is that while the symptoms of childhood asthma may come and go, the symptoms of adult onset asthma may be continuous which may require regular medication to manage the disease. This article deals with all the necessary things that you should know about asthma.


People who have the likelihood of getting this kind of disease include women who are having hormonal changes like pregnant women and women undergoing menopause. It also includes women taking estrogen following menopause, people who just had colds or flu, obese people. People with allergies also develop asthma such as cat allergy, and people who are constantly exposed to environmental irritants like tobacco, smoke, mold, dust, feather beds and perfumes which can work as triggers of this disease. This are causes that we usually ignore when we are adults. We always think that they cause little to our health but in fact it does cause serious consequences especially with the occurrence of it.


The Value of Asthma Education


Knowing its symptoms is necessary in order to prevent damage. Symptoms have to be known for a more effective treatment. The lung airways have to be regularly checked and observed so that medication can adjust to the levels of changes of lung airways activity. Adult onset asthma may cause the lung airway linings to swell, increase the production of large amount of mucus which might be thicker than the normal production, cause the narrowing of lung airway due to muscle contraction.


These physiological changes may cause the shortness of breath, frequent coughing especially at night, a whistling noise while breathing, difficulty in breathing itself and frequent chest pains. Asthma can be diagnosed by taking a medical history since it can be genetically acquired, having the doctor listen to you breathe, performing a lung function test, performing a methacholine challenge test, and having the doctor see the chest X-ray result. Learning about this disease assures you that you won't be doing the wrong things.


Adult onset asthma can be deadly in severe cases. It is indeed important to keep track of the symptoms and have your physician create a care plan called the asthma action plan. Based on your history and the severity of your disease, the action plan can be entrenched from it's characteristics. Your asthma action plan describes your medications- when and how you're going to use them, the procedures that should be executed when your asthma abruptly worsen, and gives you necessary information regarding when and to whom you're going to seek care during emergency. Make sure that you understood your plan and don't forget to ask questions from your trusted asthma care provider. Although this may sound cliche but remember it's true: health is wealth.


Adult Onset Asthma can be prevented or can be treated along if you have the right information about Asthma Facts. Providing quality reviews, articles and writings on asthma online.

Wednesday, 4 July 2012

What Are the Causes of Asthma

There are a lot of things you need to know about asthma and many people think that they are good enough to know about its treatment. However, knowledge on its treatment is no use unless you know what is causing it. The real cause of asthma is still unclear. Most people say that asthma is generally caused by two main factors and these are the genes and exposure to the environment. Unfortunately, most people with asthma disease try to deal with it but it is already too late.


There are many types of asthma but it will not be an issue when considering its treatment options. People usually go for cheap treatment methods and something that does not disturb their way of life. In view of the fact that asthma is a serious respiratory problem, knowing what sets off the attack is vital in looking for the best asthma treatment.


If you are aware of the causes of asthma, it will be easy for you to help yourself if you are suffering from it or assist other people when they are having an asthma attack. Moreover, knowing the causes will help in developing a treatment plan because you will constantly be on guard of your actions and your surroundings or perhaps other people who know will look after you as well. Here is a list of the causes of asthma you might be interested for you to be able to prevent asthma attack.


· Allergic Reactions - Only when a person suffers from difficulty of breathing or rashes does he think of the things he is allergic to but if not he just would not care. There are certain foods and other stuff that people with asthma need to get away from so knowing what these things are is essential.


· Genes - Many take asthma from members of family because they share same sets of genes. Asthma can be passed down from one generation to the succeeding ones. However, if asthma is genetic, one can make up for it by having a healthy lifestyle.


· Lifestyle - Your way of life is something you are in charge of but if you have asthma you'll have to change a few things. There are things you need to avoid when you have asthma and so your lifestyle will be greatly affected. One must make sacrifices because asthma can only be controlled through lifestyle changes. Eat a well-balanced diet, exercise regularly, sleep well, live a healthy lifestyle and say goodbye to asthma for good.


Knowing the causes of asthma is very important because it can lead your life for the better.


For more information about the different methods of asthma treatment, visit my blog to read more about the cause of asthma and how to prevent it. Providing quality reviews, articles and writings on asthma online.

Sunday, 24 June 2012

Top-Rated Allergy Air Purifiers, Five Features That Make Them Work

Most physicians will confirm that an allergy air purifier is an essential part of an effective management plan for those whose condition is triggered by airborne allergens. But in order to be effective it should have the following 5 features.


Filter For Particles - Many of the irritants that trigger airborne particles are found in the air. Seasonal pollens, dust, dust mites, mold and mildew spores, and pet dander can trigger symptoms and even a flare up for those who have allergies.


HEPA or high efficiency particle arresting filters can successfully eliminate airborne particulates that are as small as .3 microns in size. This includes all of the triggers listed above. However, many of these solids can be eliminated by filters with bigger openings and that are far less expensive.


Pre-filters are made of a cotton ball sort of material and can trap the bigger particles in the air that can be seen with the naked eye. Having these filters as part of the filtration system can prolong the life of the HEPA which will save you time and money down the road.


Filter For Gases - Gaseous pollutants can also cause problems. Things like smoke, fumes from household personal and cleaning products, chemicals that off-gas from carpet, pressed wood furniture, and paint can all cause flare ups.


Carbon cloth in a purifier is invaluable. Originally designed by the British Military as a response to chemical warfare, this type of filter offers dual benefits. Because it is made of carbon it can effectively eliminate gases, odors, and chemicals. And because it is woven like cloth, it gives additional protection against particles.


Canister of Filters - The more filters present in a unit, the more filtration you receive. This seems like a no-brainer, but there are cleaners with no filter or just one filter. It seems reasonable to assume that a purifier with a canister of filters will last longer and require less maintenance than one with one filter or no filter.


Produces Oxygen Only - There are many types of technology on the market that claim to provide clean air. Ozone and ionization are 2 technologies that remain controversial. What everyone agrees about is that oxygen as a by-product is the safest way to go. In fact, HEPA technology is the type used by hospitals to insure clean air.


24 Hour Filtration Capability - One of the best ways to manage allergies is to avoid the trigger. So if your cleaner can filter the air continually, it can drastically reduce the amount of allergens in the air. Breathing air that has fewer triggers means you stand a better chance of reducing the number and severity of flare ups. And that's the whole purpose of an effective air purifier.


Manage your allergies by drastically reducing your exposure to the particles and gases that cause problems. Providing quality reviews, articles and writings on asthma online.