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Home Treatments for Asthma Patients
One of the great ways to find relief from the symptoms of asthma is by getting involved in your care. A better understanding of the disease that you have can decrease your fear especially the feeling of not being able to know what will come. You can also ease the feeling of anxiety. Aside from the medications that can assist you to manage your asthma, you also have many options to relieve asthma.
It is important to pay attention to your body, health and to your surroundings. When you are, the less surprised when you have asthma attacks. You also know how to control both symptoms and attacks whenever it occurs.
Develop an Action Plan
If you still do not have an action plan, you can always ask your doctor to develop it with you. You need to make a discussion with your doctor and write down all the details on how you can control your asthma well. You also need to know all the things that you will need during symptoms and asthma attacks.
For example, your plan can include how much medicines you need to take and when do you need to take them. You can also list all the triggers as well as the solutions to avoid them. You also need to know exactly what to do whenever symptoms start to appear.
Peak Flow Meter
Using a peak flow meter lets you measure how fast the air comes out when you are exhaling hard right after breathing in fully. It is not expensive and a hand-held gadget. You can use this device to let you know of the incoming troubles. Some asthma symptoms appear when the air is not able to come out of the lungs. If the PEK or peak expiratory flow decreases, it means that the asthma is worse and you have to do something right away.
Asthma Diary
Another way to keep a track on how you control your asthma well is by writing it down in a diary. You can write down every day and you can include all asthma symptoms as well as how you were feeling during that time. You can also include the place where you were at and what you were doing before the attack. Write down how much medicine you used as well as the peak expiratory flow numbers.
This information will surely help you as well as your doctor to see the patterns. You will be able to see the warnings before asthma attack occurs. This way, you will learn how to avoid the triggers or stop them before you become very ill. You can also let your doctor see your diary to determine if your action plan is working well.
Some Ways to Treat Asthma
Asthma is a serious illness and patients should be able to manage it with their doctors. Many people are looking for ways to treat asthma. Here are some ways that can work well:
- Clean regularly. Make sure that you clean your home and surroundings. If cleaning irritates you, make sure you have a mask on.
- Use air conditioner. Air conditioning unit can reduce the amount of airborne pollen from outdoors. It can also remove the water that is present in the air and also reduce the exposure to dust mites.
- Keep a healthy weight. Being overweight can make the asthma symptoms worse which can put you at higher risk and other health illnesses.
- Wash bed sheets and pillow cases. It is important to wash your linens, bed sheets and pillow cases as you spend 1/3 of your day in bed.
- Reduce pet dander. Avoid having pets if you are allergic to pet dander. If you already have pets at home, make sure to give your pets a bath regularly, groom them and always sweep the floor.
- Prevent the growth of molds. You can stop the growth of molds by cleaning the wet areas of your home such as in bathroom and kitchen.
- Exercise. Even if you have asthma, you can still be active. Just make sure that you consult your doctor and ask which exercises are matched for your body. Regular exercise can keep your lungs and heart strong.
- Relax and avoid stress. Panicking and worrying can only trigger an attack.