ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

How to help your asthma

Updated on August 25, 2010
Photo curtosy of Google Images
Photo curtosy of Google Images

What is asthma?

Asthma can be defined as a disorder that involves the inflammation of the airways. This causes the airways to swell and narrow. There is also a buildup of mucus. All of this makes it hard for a person with asthma to breathe.

Being an asthmatic myself, I often search for ways I can help my asthma symptoms. I think it's important to stress that asthma can be controlled through all different ways.

Photo curtosy of Google Images
Photo curtosy of Google Images

Symptoms, causes, and statistics

Symptoms

  • Shortness of breath
  • Coughing
  • Wheezing
  • Chest pain
  • Tightness of the chest

Causes

  • Overly cold or hot environments
  • Exercise
  • Dust
  • Illnesses such as the common cold.
  • Strong emotions such as stress or crying.
  • Pollution
  • Smoke
  • Pollen
  • Mold

Statistics (people who are more at risk to develop asthma).

  • Males
  • Children
  • Having a relative with asthma.
  • Smokers
  • Being exposed to secondhand smoke or having a mother who smoked while pregnant.
  • Being overweight
  • Low birth weight
  • Exposure to chemicals and pollutants.

 

Ways you can help your asthma

We are all used to the common and most popular way to help asthma symptoms, the inhaler which is usually used during asthma attacks. We also know that there are daily medications that can be taken orally as well to prevent asthma symptoms. There are other ways that can help someone with asthma symptoms. They consists of the following.

Air purifiers-What air purifiers do is clean the air by removing unwanted pollutants that can be dangerous to anyone, especially asthmatics.

Water-It is important for asthmatics to drink plenty of water as it flushes out the toxins in the body.

Fruits and vegetables-Eating lots of fruits and veggies is important in keeping one's immune system high. This is especially important for asthmatics for the simple fact that when they catch any type of respiratory infection, cold, flu, etc. it takes them much longer to get rid of that cough, which can last for weeks after.

Ginseng-Drinking the herb ginseng is very helpful because it relaxes the bronchial muscles and clears out the airways.

Honey-This is a very effective way one can help asthma symptoms. Honey can help the airways by either taking it in orally or holding under the nose. After doing this, it ill be much easier to breathe deeper and with less trouble.

Yoga-Yoga is a great way for asthmatics to relax and work on breathing exercises that will ultimately open up the airways and make it easier to breathe.

Orange foods-Eating orange colored foods such as sweet potatoes, oranges, carrots, squash, pumpkins, and mangoes are very good for asthmatics. The natural color of orange is wonderful for helping breathing.

Caffeine-Eating or drinking anything that contains caffeine is great for asthmatics because again, it opens up the airways and, therefore, makes it easier to breathe.

Figs-Out of all the fruits, figs are probably one of the best, if not the best, for helping asthma. They work by draining off the phlegm from the airways which blocks the patient from breathing properly.

Lemons-Lemons are another great fruit that can help clear the airways and ultimately make it easier to breathe.

Ginger-The ginger juice can be taken with fenugreek decoction, honey, and water. This is another great way to help asthma.

Garlic-This is very beneficial to asthmatics. Steaming garlic with ginger tea is very good and works especially well in the morning and evening.

Photo curtosy of Google Images
Photo curtosy of Google Images

Living with asthma

Asthma cannot be cured, however, if taken care of properly, an asthmatic should be able to live a normal life. Asthma comes in different stages, some more severe than others. It is very important to keep track of your asthma attacks to tell your doctor. Using a peak flow meter is also important as it tells you how your breathing is. Your doctor will set where your level should be by having you breathe into it while you are experiencing no asthma symptoms. Then everyday you can check to see where your breathing rate is and if you should use asthma medication, see your doctor, or if you are good to go.

Asthma is a disease that even though it is not curable, it can be made better by doing these simple everyday things. Obviously, for some people, some or all of these things may help more people than others; it all depends on the severity of the asthma. It is important for us asthmatics to take care of ourselves and stay knowledgeable regarding what can help us.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)