How To Prevent From Asthma Attacks?
Posted on March 10, 2008
Filed Under News, Prevention |
“A severe respiratory infection in infancy greatly increases the risk of developing asthma,” says the study’s lead author Mitchell Grayson, M.D., assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Allergy and Immunology. “Less than one in 30 people who don’t suffer a severe respiratory infection as a baby develop asthma, but of those who do get these infections, one in five goes on to have asthma.” The key to preventing asthma attacks and better asthma control is to avoid your known asthma triggers. We have some basic tips on how to avoid your triggers. Keep your asthma symptoms at bay with these helpful asthma prevention techniques.
Preventive medications don’t work immediately, but may take weeks or months before they are really effective. So it is very important for the child to stick with them - and to take them regularly. If doses are skipped the asthma is likely to get worse. If medication is taken regularly, most children can keep their asthma under control. Even though they won’t be “cured,” they should be free of symptoms most of the time.
Taken properly, preventative medications should make the child’s life much easier. But it is still important to avoid the triggers and irritants that bring on asthma attacks.
Medication with the help of your child’s physician is the best step towards fighting asthma, but there are more preventive measures you can do to ensure your child’s health condition despite his allergy. Maintaining a house which is squeaky-clean highly improves your child’s asthma condition. Frequently wash beddings in hot water, as well as stuffed animals, pillows, and curtains. If you must keep a pet, give it a bath often. Prevent mold build-up from the bathroom and vacuum the entire house, especially your child’s room and the living room.
One of the best ways to prevent this damage is to know what triggers your child’s asthma attacks. Is it dogs? Cats? Cold air? Certain foods or drinks? Wood smoke? Cigarette smoke? Or is there no clearcut trigger that you can see?
If so, you may have to be do some hard work to discover what’s causing the attacks. This can involve keeping a diary of exactly where your child was in the hours before the latest asthma flare. What was he doing? What possible allergens were in the environment? Was it cold or hot where she was? Did he eat something different, highly flavored or with artificial sweeteners, flavors or colors? These can be significant triggers for asthma, especially in children. My son reacts strongly to yellow and red dye and avoids it by reading labels.
Communicate with your doctor. Managing asthma requires you to co-operate with your doctor to assess your triggers and form a step-by-step plan to manage them. Your doctor can help you form an effective strategy for using your medications and to prevent acute attacks, as well as recognizing situations that cause lung and bronchial irritation.
Use a breathing monitor. Many asthma sufferers use a home peak airflow meter to measure their optimal breathing capacity, so that in the event that their breathing becomes compromised, they can recognize the decrease in airflow immediately. This is particularly important because your lung functioning can sometimes be impaired even if you aren’t showing any symptoms of restricted breathing or an impending attack.
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