Oct 20
2007

Learning you have asthma is bad enough, but have you thought about what to do when having an asthma attack?

Asthma usually gives you a warning when it’s about effect your breathing. There are several pre-symptoms. Watch for a feeling of tightness in the chest. Unusual wheezing and coughing should get your attention. Even restlessness while trying to sleep is another early signals that an asthma attack may be on its way. If you train yourself to watch for these conditions your will find that you usually have enough time to prepare for or even prevent the asthma attack.

When you feel the attack coming don’t just sit there! Swing into action. Here are some “fight back” tips:

1) You must have prepared an asthma attach action plan that you can quickly put into action anytime you feel an attack is coming.

2) An asthma attack is usually a high stress situation, but you should at least try to stay calm and put your plan into action. First of all… Make sure you take the correct medications – do not mistake prevention drug with an asthma reliever remedy. Prevention medications have little or no effect in relieving an attack… or they work much to slowly.

3) The best way to be sure you correctly identify your medications is to mark your inhalers with different colors. For example: A blue inhaler for normal prevention, and red inhaler for emergency-use relief. By making these advanced preparations there is less chance you will grab the wrong treatment at the wrong time. You will be prepared for whatever asthma throws at you.

4) Relax and slow your breathing! This is not an easy task, but with enough training you can concentrate and control your breath even during an asthma attack. Practice your breathing exercises under normal conditions, to make sure you can do them when you’re tense during an attack.

What to do when having an asthma attack – relaxed breathing

As mentioned above, during an asthma attack and after taking medication you should begin your relaxation exercises. Start by sitting comfortably in a chair. Then clear you mind and concentrate on relaxing. Visualize the tension leaving your shoulders and neck.

It is important to control your breathing and not to gasp for air. Maintain your concentration and try to slow your breathing a little. A good technique is to inhale through your nose, and exhale through your mouth.

Try using a pursed-lip breathing technique. It can help you control your breathing. Do that until any breathless feeling subsides and finally disappears. It’s not uncommon to feel dizzy while doing this. Just try to rest between breaths.

What to do when having an asthma attack – when things going wrong

Now let’s cover what to do when you are having an asthma attack and you can’t get relief. Despite using the proper medicine and exercises your asthma attack only seems to get worse. If your effort to breathe becomes extremely labored, or if you struggle with an asthma attack for longer than usual and you just don’t seem to be getting better, consider the following:

1) Call your doctor. It is wise to have the doctor’s phone number written somewhere close at hand or preprogrammed into your telephone’s memory. Having your doctor’s phone number stored (or even programmed for fast dial) in your cellular phone is also a good idea. Make sure you can call your doctor anywhere you are. Don’t worry of all this seems a bit paranoid. You should always hope for the best, but plan for the worst.
2) Your attack may be so severe that there is just not time to try and get in touch with your doctor and then travel to his or her’s office. In this situation it is best to immediately head for the nearest hospital emergency room. This should be a part of your asthma attack plan. You should know the exact location of at least one emergency facility and the fastest way to get there. If you don’t have a car you should have the number of a friend or taxi company ready to use.
3) Finally… be ready to call for an ambulance. They can get to you in a matter of minutes and they will be ready to give your asthma attack immediate attention. This is another situation that should be included in your plan. You should have done the research to learn if you should call the ambulance directly, or call 911 and let that emergency service arrange for the ambulance.

When you think “What to do when having an asthma attack”… you should be able to immediately turn to your plan and put it into action. Your best defense against an asthma attack is a well prepared plan.

About the author:

Mark Walters has dedicated his web site to help those suffering from asthma http://www.asthmaroom.com

Written By: Mark Walters

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Jul 4
2007

Asthma is a chronic condition which is now become very infamous due to its occurrence from a young to old. There are many of factors which come into picture such as genetic as well as environmental.

Causes

It causes breathlessness which occurs often due to some allergies which is defined by sudden chest congestion, attacks of wheezing and constant battle with the lung and air. You get a feeling of loss of breath due to narrowing down of the tubes from our lungs. As this tube becomes narrower it becomes very hard to breathe. Other reasons for this attack can be due to throat contract and the tubes are swollen. Non-allergic asthma occurs due to exercise, weather change or some viral infection. It is also classified as either allergens or irritants.

There are triggering agents which cause asthma which can be such a silly thing for many, but can be deadly too. Some of them can be pets, pillows, pollution, perfumes, dust, plants and many more. Once you identify the triggering agent you should be ready to prevent it before the attack happens. The sad part of asthma is that it is not age related from a 2 year-old to an 80 year-old can have asthma.

Avoid

The first victory would to know what has triggered that attack in you. Once you know that, you should take precautions to avoid that. Keeping your house clean, wiping it with a damp cloth to avoid the dust, stay away from people who smoke and from pets if you are allergic to that. A change in lifestyle happens when such a disease has its presence in your life.

Signs and Symptoms

The signs and symptoms of asthma may differ from person to person. The feeling is someone trying to drown you, where in you face shortage of air due to the inflammation in your lungs. Signs of asthma are mostly wheezing which happens due to the mucus present in the airway which causes the breathlessness. Sometimes it can be so severe that you may lose your consciousness and complaining of a chest pain.

Remedies

Modern Medicines

Inhalers are a constant friend of an asthma patient. It soothes the pathway of the airways to breathe freely. There are long-term medications which are being prescribed by the doctors are used to control the occurrence of the attack. These medications help the patient in several ways to get back to its normal life.

Water therapy

There are theories that intake of water can prevent asthma attacks. Asthma occurs when the air passage is blocked so as to hinder the passage of water in vapor form from the body.

Hypnosis

It has help create lot of myths people carry with allergies which are sometimes 30% of the times, the reason for asthma attack. Allergies some say is a mistake which the brain makes in presence of some substances. Brain seems to overreact with the opinion of that the substance is life threatening. These mistakes can be corrected with hypnosis.

Breathing exercises

Buteyko method of exercise has helped many asthma patients. People who used to take two puffs a day of bronchodilators have seen a major change. This method of breathing helps in reducing the intake of inhalers, medicines, and other steroids.

Other theory is that asthma is a defense mechanism which our body uses to keep the gases intact in our lungs. With the modern medicine and increased used of technology new solutions and remedies have come into picture to help the suffering people.

About the author:

Visit http://home-remedies-for-you.com/remedy/Asthma.html

Written By: Kala S

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Apr 11
2007

Yoga has helped in curing and preventing many diseases. The poses and asanas stimulate the required organs and help you with your ailments. Asthma is a very common problem. It is basically shortness of breath due to the chronic lung condition. Even kids are not spared by this disease. You suffer wheezing, coughing, heaviness in the chest causing blockage in your lungs. During asthma attack lack of oxygen can lead to death too. By doing the required asanas you can fight back.

Yoga betters your asthma condition due to the free flow of air. By continuously practicing yoga you can leave your medications at bay. Asthma attacks would lessen with the increase of yoga practice. The breathing exercises are very useful to open up your lungs for fresh air.

Back bending postures are very good to open up your chest to improve your heart and lung condition. Practicing upper back bends and chest opening postures helps, in exhaling during asthma attacks. Forward bends and lower back bending poses help in inhaling, during the attack. Mucus can be removed by inverted postures.

Pranayama is an excellent way to have a controlled breath to avoid any asthma attacks. According to the triggering factors for asthma attacks, one should practice pranayama. Dirga prananyama is a multi-purpose asana and helps in slow and deep breathing exercise. Nadi Sodhana can help you with stress and emotional turmoil.

Asthma triggered by cold can be helped by Ujjayi pranayama. Allergic trigger patterns can be avoided by Sitt Kari or Shitali pranayama. Kapalbhatti pranayama is very good to reduce the mucus congestion.

These breathing exercises are very good to strengthen and relax the muscles of lungs. During the asthma attack this proves to be very useful. It reduces the nerve activity in the airways causing fewer bottlenecks during the attack. It helps cleanse the air passage to breathe easily. It helps in stabilizing the autonomous nervous systems.

Pranayama if practiced regularly can do lot of difference to your health. This would help you to have asthma free life. Props used while doing these asanas may help you better. Breathing helps to soothe the lining of the bronchial tree and helps in preventing the external allergens. It is said that the single and long inhalation is very good for relaxation.

Some Asanas which would relieve Asthma from your life

- Dandasana
- Baddhakonasana
- Upavista Konasana
- Virasana
- Supta Baddhakonasana
- Supta Virasana
- Setubandha Sarvangasana
- Adhomukha Svanasana
- Uttanasana
- Tadasana Samasthithi

Warning: The reader of this article should exercise all precautions before following any of the asanas from this article and the site. To avoid any problems while doing the asanas, it is advised that you consult a doctor and a yoga instructor. The responsibility lies solely with the reader and not with the site or the writer.

About the Author:

Sharon Hopkins handles sites related to yoga, which opens a new door of knowledge towards yoga and its health benefits Yoga for Asthma Cure – These yoga asana help you live an asthma free life.

Written By: Sharon Hopkins

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