Tips for Asthma Sufferers This Season

As a sufferer of asthma, I have discovered several tricks through out the years to help me avoid attacks during the worst times of the year. Here are some of the things that have worked for me...

Proactive Medicating ~
If you are on a daily medication for asthma, there may be times of the year when you don't need to take it at all. Be aware of when that time of the year ends. For instance, if you have noticed over the years that your asthma is worse in springtime then don't wait until your first springtime attack to start taking those daily medications. Talk to your doctor before that season starts.

Starting your daily meds a few weeks before the worst of the season starts, can give your body a leg up on the pollutants and triggers that may be setting off your attacks during that season. Double-check with your doctor, an discuss the time of year that your attacks seem to be most frequent, to develop a dosing schedule that may help you head off those seasonal attacks.

Stay Indoors During High Counts ~
Most local weather stations now carry a daily warning telling you what the pollen or pollution counts are in your area each day. If you know that outside pollutants are among your trigger symptoms, stay indoors (where you can breath filtered air) during the highest counts. If you can possibly avoid going outside when those counts are at their highest then you will simply avoid the trigger symptoms. There are a lot of helpful medications on the market to treat asthma attacks but avoiding the attacks altogether is always the best course of action.

Drink Often ~
Even before you go into an active asthma attack less extreme symptoms may include faster, shallow breathing. When you breathe shallowly you have to take more breaths per minute to get the same amount of air. Every time you take a breath in or out the air passing through your nose and mouth evaporates a little bit of the moisture from your nose and mouth. If you are breathing twice as often every hour, then you are loosing twice as much moisture through breathing. That's why asthmatics tend to dehydrate faster than non-asthmatics.

Typically you won't notice that your are dehydrated until it is too late. Be proactive by monitoring how much water you are drinking even before you start to feel bad. If you need to, put a chart on your refrigerator, or in your day planner, and actually count off how many glasses of water you are getting each day. Otherwise it's easy to loose track during the day. If you write it down you can be sure that you are drinking as much water as you need to every hour.

Test Often ~
One of the surest ways to know if your asthma is on its way to attack levels is to use a peak flow meter. If you have a peak flow meter use it several times a day. (If you don't have one yet, get one!) This test will help you establish what your normal levels are as well as warn you if your numbers start to deviate from your norm.

Peak flow meters are typically marked with colored zones; red, yellow and green. If you are normally in the green area, and you spend a day or so in the yellow area, you will know that you need to take action before you sink all the way into the red area. Using your peak flow meter several times a day (or as often as directed to by your doctor) can help you recognize when your asthma is getting worse even before you go into an active attack.

These are some of the best tips that I have used to help control my asthma and stay healthy even during the worst seasons for me. I hope that they have helped you too.

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