Among kids, asthma is the most common chronic (lasting) illness. In the United States, over 4 million people under age 18, or more than one child in 20, -have asthma. The wheezing, coughing, and complicated treatment can cause children to feel embarrassed, miss school, repeatedly visit the doctor, or even race to the emergency room. Very rarely, asthma that goes untreated for a long time may even lead to death.... Read more...

Unless you suffer from asthma, you may not understand just how serious a problem can be. It can be quite debilitating when an attack occurs. It can even become deadly if the attack is severe enough and cannot be treated quickly enough. However, the best thing to do is try to prevent an attack rather than stop one once it has begun. One of the ways to do this is to eat the right food. Nutrition is quite important but there are some foods that the asthmatics just need to avoid for their own good health.... Read more...

Extrinsic asthma is a condition that is triggered by exposure to certain allergens. Not everyone exhibits symptoms to the same allergens so it is necessary, first of all, to find out just what your particular allergens are. This is the most important step you can take to help yourself because once you know what to avoid you can drastically cut back on your asthma attacks.... Read more...

Humidity and heat are the worst enemies of asthma sufferers.  These two forces combined work to decrease the amount of air that the lungs of asthma patients take in.  Higher temperatures cause molds to grow, turning into allergens that also trigger asthma symptoms.... Read more...

The first step toward managing your asthma is a proper diagnosis. Depending on the severity of your asthma, you may work with a primary care provider, an allergist, or both. During the first visits, your doctor will take a medical history, do a physical examination, and test your lung capacity. These tools lay the groundwork for creating your personal asthma management plan. “Working With Your Health Care Provider.”... Read more...

Weather. Temperature changes, humidity, wind, and barometric pressure have also been implicated in triggering asthma. If you notice that these weather conditions cause you to have asthma symptoms, some strategies can help. For example, cover your mouth and nose with a scarf or turtleneck on cold or windy days. On humid days, head indoors and use a dehumidifier.... Read more...

Because asking about the potential health effects of your work environment can be a delicate issue, it’s best to get a careful asthma diagnosis. You and your health care provider need to determine that your asthma symptoms occur only at work and are not just asthma symptoms that are worsening as a result of allergens or irritants from outside the workplace. Also, your doctor needs to rule out bronchitis or an asthma-like condition called reactive airway dysfunction syndrome, which is the result of strong exposures to gases, dust, or fumes. ... Read more...

If you have an asthma attack at any time during your pregnancy, you need to act quickly to get your breathing back under control. If your breathing does not improve soon, you may take in too little oxygen, which could harm your baby.... Read more...

If you’re looking for a doctor, put some thoughts on what you want in a doctor. Do you prefer seeing a man or woman doctor? Do you want the clinic to be near your workplace or close to home? Make a list and number the items from most to least important. Ask friends which health care providers they see and why they like, or don’t like, them. Consider calling a doctor’s office to find out more. If you belong to a health maintenance organization (HMO), call member services, and they can tell you whether a doctor is one of their providers. Some hospitals also maintain doctor referral services and can give you the phone numbers of doctors in your area. When you’re speaking to someone in the doctor’s office, feel free to ask questions like:... Read more...

When you’ve got your asthma under control, you’ll breathe better and feel better. Your next goal is simple: to stay this way. As you’ve learned, asthma doesn’t just go away. Even with medication and a (mostly) trigger-free environment, an asthma attack is always possible.... Read more...

- Medication is a critical part of your asthma treatment. There are two basic types of asthma medicine: quick relievers and long-term controllers. The exact medications (and the amount) that’s right for you depend on the severity of your asthma. Together, you and your doctor will create a medicine plan. Depending on your asthma symptoms, this plan will change over time.... Read more...

Corticosteroids require a doctor’s prescription. They can be used two ways: by spray inhalation or by mouth. Injectable forms are also available, but require prescription and the presence of a doctor or nurse to administer them. Injections of steroid medicines are usually given at the start of treatment in the doctor’s office, or they are given when the patient is seen in an emergency room or admitted to the hospital. Judicious early use of steroids by inhalation and by mouth will reduce inflammation in the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract and thereby prevent most hospital admissions.... Read more...

From the first, the stated purpose of this book was to help the asthmatic patient manage the disease closely, using all of the available, helpful methods of treatment with emphasis thus far on medicines. We have discussed making the correct diagnosis, managing the environment, various medicines, fluid intake, and other side issues.... Read more...

Imagine most of the people of an entire city coughing and wheezing, gasping for breath, unable to do anything except cough. Think about older people dying of exhaustion from the effort to breathe. Think about infants and small children with blue-tinged skin and lips, rolling and tossing with discomfort as they, too, struggle to breathe. Imagine air that feels thick enough to eat like soup, air that never seems to satisfy the need to breathe. This has happened over the years in many cities all over the world. The cause: air pollution.... Read more...

Much of the information is’ the same whether you’re pregnant or not. However, when you’re pregnant and asthmatic, there are four medication rules to remember:... Read more...

The terms allergy and asthma are closely related as most people having asthma have allergies too. Allergic asthma is caused by allergic reactions, which constricts the airways (called Bronchi) in the lungs together with increased production of mucus in the lungs, resulting in allergic asthma symptoms like breathing trouble, coughing, tight chest, wheezing etc. A person with the family history of asthma/allergy is at a much higher risk of developing asthma any time during his life span than a person without such history.... Read more...

Most of the time, the best way to take asthma medication is to inhale it. Inhaled medication goes right to your lungs and begins working quickly. As a result, it’s usually faster and safer than oral (liquid or pill) medicine. When you inhale a beta2 agonist during an asthma attack, for example, you should begin breathing better within about 10 minutes.... Read more...

Here’s the good news: no matter what your experience, you can control your asthma. New drugs, better treatment guidelines, and ongoing medical research are changing the way doctors and their patients fight asthma. You, as a person with asthma, benefit.... Read more...