If you are affected with asthma, you need to constantly ensure that you stay away from the different triggers of this disease, which may otherwise result in aggravating the symptoms. Some of the common symptoms of asthma are wheezing, coughing, or even difficulty in catching your breath. The unfortunate part is that once you are affected with asthma, there is no fixed cure. However, there are measures that you may take to prevent the episodes of asthma from occurring. Here are four effective steps that you may take:
Identify the triggers
You must have heard that prevention is the best cure. While different people may experience varying triggers that cause an asthma attack, the following list consists of generalized triggers that may lead to these episodes:
- Extremely cold air
- Smoking
- Strong fragrances
- Episodes of sinusitis
- Allergens
- Air pollution
- A virus causing flu or cold
It is ideal to maintain an asthma diary, wherein your triggers are listed down. Once you list out all the factors, it may come in very handy during an asthma attack. You may also consult a specialist in order to reduce the number of instances when you get affected by the triggers.
Carefully scrutinize the relation between allergens and asthma
In case your asthma is caused due to an allergy, reducing the exposure to these allergens would prove to be beneficial. The allergens may block the airways and cause inflammation. It is also advisable to avoid habits such as smoking as well as to avoid doing things that make you susceptible to catching a cold or flu so that these allergies do not cause an asthma attack.
Make your environment completely allergy-proof
Ensure that you do not visit an environment that warrants for an asthma attack. For instance, do not visit restaurants that have any signs of smoking. When you are traveling, confirm with the concierge whether there is any sort of trigger present in the environment. Additionally, you may also get a flu vaccine so that the virus does not affect you greatly.
A lot of people also go through immunotherapy to become a lot more immune to their environment. Immunotherapy consists of getting allergy shots, which may help in controlling the situation from worsening. These allergy shots are given at good intervals so that the body becomes accustomed to the trigger and the reaction is less severe.
Follow a regular workout schedule
If you are prone to asthma, instead of avoiding physical exercises, you must make it a part of your daily routine. Working out will keep you fit overall and will also lower the chances of you suffering from an asthma attack. One of the best exercises for keeping asthma attacks in check is swimming. This is because swimming lets you breathe in warm and moist air, which soothes your airways.
While the aforementioned factors may help in bringing down the allergy attacks, keeping an inhaler or your medication with you all the time would surely help you avoid these attacks. Also, letting the people you are with know about your condition would help them act fast in case of an attack.