Living Well with Asthma

by Anne Rivera

Approximately one in ten people have asthma. For most, the disease is mild, making them cough or short of breath once in a while. For others it is more severe, with sudden attacks that leave them gasping for breath. A good understanding of how it is the key to living a full life despite having asthma.

Learning more about your friend for life

Asthma is a permanent condition; its causes are both genetic and environmental. The possibility of developing the disease is greatest for children of asthmatics, but a small percentage are people with zero family history. There is no such thing as an asthma remedy, because there is no cure. The best way to handle asthma is to accept it as part of your life and institute an effective course of asthma treatment.

People with this disease experience symptoms because of an overzealous immune system. When you inhale a dangerous substance, the body reacts by producing mucus to trap the irritant. You cough to try to remove it, and your air passages close down to prevent more from getting in.

How to keep your friend from bothering you all the time

An overactive immune system will cause excessive airway narrowing, producing the wheezing and difficulty of breathing associated with attacks. If you think this is like an allergy, then you are absolutely correct. Both conditions are similar in root cause, and they often coexist, the resulting symptoms are just different.

Asthma treatment regimens therefore focus on preventing the onset of attacks. You cannot be completely cured of asthma, though some people have milder symptoms than others. Some people believe they have outgrown their childhood asthma, but this is not necessarily true. For some, the original diagnosis was wrong, but others may just be waiting for the right trigger.

A one-two punch for better living

In order to prevent attacks, two things are important. The first is to avoid conditions that trigger an attack. The second is an appropriate course of asthma control medicine. When both are optimally applied, you can lower the possibility of an asthma attack to nearly zero.

Finding out what triggers attacks requires presence of mind. When you, or your loved one starts feeling some symptoms, stop and take note of where you are. Common triggers of asthma include changes of temperature, dust, pollen, animal dander and chemicals. See if you can identify these around you. Additionally, certain foods potentiate asthma attacks in certain people. Attacks become more likely for some after eating peanuts or eggs or seafood. Know your triggers and learn to avoid them.

The right drugs to keep you happy

When an attack occurs, there is medication available to reverse the symptoms. These should always be available close at hand to prevent the symptoms from escalating. Asthma control medicine, on the other hand, is a daily regimen designed to prevent attacks from happening. This is especially important in people whose triggers are so common as to be impossible to avoid. Your primary care physician may be able to prescribe a suitable course of asthma therapy. In some cases, however, you may need to consult a specialist.

In addition to avoidance and treatment, a good overall health program has been shown to decrease the frequency of symptoms and help recovery. Asthma sufferers, like everyone else, need to exercise and eat well, and most especially stop smoking. Though asthma is something you can never get rid of, you can keep it from affecting you. So don’t wait, start living well with your asthma now.