Surviving Dorm Life When You Have Asthma

So, you're in college now. Dorm life offers the first respite from the iron grip of parental authority. As you unpack your things in the little room that will be your home for the next several years, however, you feel a different sort of iron grip-the familiar tightening of asthma grasping at your lungs. Don't panic. A lot of students with asthma suffer an increase in the prevalence of their asthma, especially in first few weeks of school. Here are some tips that can help.

First thing's first: if you have a roommate, be sure to let them know about your condition. Don't worry-having asthma isn't anything to be embarrassed about, and chances are, they know someone else who has it, or may even have it themselves. Letting your roommate know about your asthma will keep them from panicking if you randomly start wheezing and gasping, and they can call emergency services for you if you suffer an attack bad enough to warrant medical intervention.

Likewise, if your school has a full-time nurse on staff, be sure to let them know about your condition. There's not much they can do for most instances, but should you suffer a bad attack on campus, the nurse might be the first on the scene and giving them the information they need can be helpful.

Check with your college's housing authority about smoking policies in the dorms. Most campuses these days have banned indoor smoking, but if your campus allows it, find out if your dorm has been smoked in by a previous resident. Cigarette is one of the more common triggers of asthma complications, and simply changing to a smoke-free room can take care of many of your asthma problems.

Consider getting a small air filter for your room. Many dormitories are very old, and may have mold or other pathogens hidden in the walls. While there's not much you can do to prevent these things, an air filter can ease your breathing. You don't have to break the bank on one of those super-expensive HEPA filters; Wal-mart carries a number of small, relatively affordable air filters. Just be sure to clean the filter out once in a while; if the filter is clogged, it isn't doing its job.

Avoid heavy aerosol air fresheners. Many dorms, especially guy's dorms, acquire a certain funky smell, and there's not much you can do about it. Instead of aerosol air fresheners, try putting out a few open boxes of baking soda. If you must use air fresheners, try spraying them just before you leave the room, so that by the time you come back, the aerosol has settled and you aren't breathing it directly into your lungs.

If your campus is located fairly far from your home, you can expect your asthma to be more prevalent for a few weeks. Different local plant life, different elevation, even different weather patterns can all impact your asthma, especially until your body adjusts to the new environment. The bright side is that these triggers do tend to fade after some time.

If at all possible, avoid the "Freshman 15." Many students tend to gain weight when they first arrive at college, largely from the increased amounts of junk food that students tend to devour. This can be bad for your asthma, since increased body weight also increases the pressure your body applies to your lungs. Even the fifteen pounds that students on average gain can be enough to adversely affect your asthma.

Finally, if your asthma is giving you so many new problems that it's almost unbearable, try talking to your doctor about control medications like Singulair or Advair. While not as fast-acting as an Albuterol inhaler, these types of medication remain in your system and work to prevent asthma attacks from ever happening. If you're already on these types of medications, and are still suffering an extreme increase in frequency of your attacks, be sure to talk to your doctor; only your doctor can help you identify the causes and prescribe a solution.