Cold Weather and Asthma

With the onset of winter and cold weather conditions, asthma sufferers should ensure that they are well prepared and take extra care throughout the colder winter months. This is because cold weather can be a trigger for a large percentage of the 5.4 million asthma sufferers in the UK according to health charity, Asthma UK.

Asthma symptoms are often made worse if you catch a cold or flu and we also see a marked increase in hospital admissions for asthma sufferers when the temperature goes down. However, if you take extra care and manage your asthma condition properly you should be able to withstand the rigours of the winter weather and the associated asthma symptoms and thus avoid a full-blown asthma attack.

Make sure you visit your doctor or designated asthma nurse in your GP surgery and they will review your medication and make any necessary changes. This is known as a personal asthma action plan and contains important information to help you take control of your asthma, including details of your asthma medicines, key warning signs to tell you when your condition is getting worse, what to do about it and emergency procedure should you have an asthma attack. If you have not had a review in the last year, it is advisable to contact your doctor surgery and book an appointment as soon as possible.

The following are 5 tips to help you avoid asthma attacks in colder weather.

繚 Always use your regular prevention medicines as prescribed by your doctor, even if you do not feel you need it. Prevention medicines are designed to be used daily to prevent an attack.
繚 If you are already aware that the cold weather triggers your asthma it is a good idea to take 1 or 2 puffs of your reliever inhaler before going outside.
繚 Always make sure you have your reliever inhaler with you at all times.
繚 Wear a scarf over your nose and mouth when you go outside as it will help to warm up the cold air before you breathe it in.
繚 Be sure to warm up for at least 10 minutes before doing exercise outdoors in cold weather and it is a good idea to take 1 or 2 puffs of your reliever inhaler before you start exercising.

Having an asthma attack

If you notice that you are experiencing shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing, feeling tightness in the chest and finding it difficult to speak, then you may be having an asthma attack. It is important to stay calm, sit down and try to take slow, steady breaths. Take 1 or 2 puffs from your reliever inhaler immediately.

When should you dial the emergency services?

If there is no improvement, continue taking 2 puffs of your reliever inhaler every 2 minutes. You should take up to 10 puffs. If your symptoms have not improved after 5 or 10 minutes and you have become too breathless to talk, you should call for emergency assistance. If you are worried about your attack at any time you should contact the emergency services. If an ambulance has not arrived after 15 minutes then take 1 or 2 puffs from your reliever inhaler while you are waiting.

5 Asthma Coping Strategies

Regardless of its severity, there are numerous strategies for coping with asthma on a number of different levels. There are strategies for medications, monitoring, early warning signals, onset of attacks, and prevention.

Let's look at these five asthma coping strategies and see when and how they can be applied, and what the possible benefits are both as short and long-term strategies.

1. Medications
Once you have been diagnosed your doctor will prescribe medication based on the severity of your asthma, pre-existing conditions and medications, and your overall health. This might involve tablets, but very likely it will also involve one or more inhalers. These tend to be either preventative inhalers which are taken regularly every day regardless of the state of your asthma, or reliever inhalers which help to relieve the symptoms should they appear.

One strategy is to spend time learning how to use these properly, familiarizing yourself with their correct use and taking them with you wherever you go. Simply knowing they are available can be a psychological comfort, and worrying about using them, or about not having them, can produce just enough stress to trigger an attack.

2. Monitoring
Make sure you schedule regular check ups and keep the appointments. Unlike many other conditions, asthma can vary from time to time, sometimes getting worse and at other times getting better. To make sure that your condition doesn't worsen without you being aware of it, which could result in your medications not working as effectively as you'd hope, make sure that you attend regularly checkups with your doctor.

If you have a peak flow meter or other home test kit, use this regularly, and keep a log of the results, as well as a record of attacks to allow your doctor to spot trends that will make a diagnosis more accurate.

3. Early Warnings
Most asthmatics are aware very early on that their breathing has become constricted. In most cases, asthma doesn't occur as a sudden and unexpected shorthess of breath, but rather a progressive degeneration of breathing with a tightening or constriction effect occurring gradually, increasing in severity.

A good strategy is to realize as soon as you detect the earliest onset of breathing difficulty, and sit down, stop, and try to control your breathing. If you sit calmly and concentrate on your breathing then, in many cases, you may find yourself able to prevent it from getting worse, and recover your breath without the need for medication.

4. Attacks
Should an asthma attack occur, it's important to remain as calm as possible. Stop whatever it is you are doing, and try to stay calm. Sit down, but don't squash your abdomen. Sitting on the front edge of a chair and leaning forwards slightly can help. Concentrate on your breathing and try to keep it slow, deep and regular.

If you start to panic then you will begin to hyperventilate, and this will make the condition worse. Think carefully about the location of your inhaler. Remember - stop, sit down, control your breathing and calm down - then you're ready to deal with your medication.

5. Prevention
There are many books written on preventative asthma coping strategies, and these cover factors in your home such as hypoallergenic bedding, avoiding pets, and using special filtered vacuum cleaners.

However, one of the simplest and cheapest is to practice some form of quiet meditation. Meditation is excellent for helping control your breathing, and by doing this you may help to build better breath control which will allow you to prevent or limit the onset of asthma from becoming any worse, or of dealing with it should you suffer a full asthma attack.

Filtering your air is also an effective way to prevent a build up of indoor pollutants that could possibly trigger an attack. By using a high efficiency particle arresting (abbreviated as HEPA) to remove household dust, dust mites, mold and mildew spores, pet dander and smoke, you are removing the very allergens that often cause flare ups.

Asthma - Life Threatening Disease

Asthma is an acute lung disease, which shrinks, narrows and swells the airways thus results in chest tightening, short breathing, severe coughing and wheezing sound. It is usually common in all ages of people but children of weak health, old age people and with weak immune system people can have it more times as compare to normal healthy people. Coughing is noticed often at night and early in the morning. It has been observed that in United States, there are more tan 22 million people who are affected from asthma from which more than 6 million are children.

Due to inflammation in airways, it becomes difficult to breath easily and short breathing occurs. Airways become sensitive because of inflammation and sometimes, they react severely to some substances, which are breathed in. The muscles around airways become shrink when it gets react thus results in low airflow to lungs. Mucus is created and it further hardens the breathing and shrinks the airways. When this situation occurs, symptoms of asthma get appear. Sometimes, these symptoms are so mild that they can go away by simple treatment of taking medication. But sometimes, these symptoms become worse, this situation is known as asthma attack. They are also called flare-ups or exacerbations.

It is highly recommended to visit your doctor if you notice any of above symptoms. An early right diagnosis can help right treatment and you can be prevented from chronic life threatening disease. It is important to note here that sometimes, emergency situation can become due to asthma attacks, which requires immediate care. And due to any negligence, it can cause death.

It is inevitable to mention here that asthma can never be cured. If you are feeling fine and do not have any symptoms after having any first attack, you are more prone to any asthma attack in future and it can flare up any time. But with proper knowledge and taking care, you can cope up with asthma very well.

Sinus Infections, Sinus Problems And Asthma

For some reason or other more than 50% of people with asthma also have sinus symptoms or nasal symptoms of some kind. Oftentimes the symptoms are of an allergic nature and can be triggered by mold, animal dander, pests, pollen or dampness. If you have chronic inflammation in your nasal passages due to sinus problems this can trigger symptoms of asthma. It's unknown just how asthma can be triggered by sinus infections or sinus problems and scientists are still working on it. What causes asthma is one of the mysteries or puzzles that affect many sinus and asthma sufferers.

One possibility is that something in the diet is causing both the sinus and asthma symptoms, in other words - from the same food source. People on vegan diets experience less sinus problems. One possibility is that the postnasal drip (the sinus drainage that goes down the back of your throat) drains into the lower airway leading to increased inflammation and hyper-reactivity. Asthma can be aggravated if the nasal obstruction causes you to breathe through your mouth. This can cause a loss of heat and moisture into the lower airways.

Until scientists determine what exactly the connection is between asthma and asthma attacks and sinusitis, sinus infections and sinus problems you want to make sure and do everything you can to control or eliminate the sinus problems. By doing so you can be in a good position to control and manage 50% of the asthma problems just by eliminating known causes of sinus problems and sinus infections.

By managing the sinus problems you should be able to experience less asthma attacks and may actually come up with the reason you're having the asthma and sinus issues, especially by changing your diet - say to a raw food diet or raw vegan diet. That would be eliminating milk, which has long been suspect and meat, grains (which can cause celiac disease - the gluten in wheat, spelt, barley, rye, kamut and others) and wheat is the most allergic food there is. And there are other highly allergic foods to consider.

People have cured themselves of asthma; it doesn't necessarily have to be a life sentence. Many kids have outgrown it. If you start today on working on getting rid of all the causes of sinus problems in your life you may just stop the asthma for good. Sinus medications are not the answer and may interfere with any inhalers or asthma medications you may be taking. Antibiotics are no longer routinely prescribed since most sinus infections are caused by fungi or mold and not bacteria. There are good natural home remedies for sinus infections that work.

Types and Treatments of Asthma

A chronic respiratory disorder, asthma is prevalent in almost every part of this planet. It is a serious disease which leaves an affected individual at a great handicap during an asthmatic attack and has a potential of proving fatal. Although there is no known medication or vaccine that can completely cure asthma, one can gather information about the disease to create self awareness. It is a disease which has evaded cure but treatments are nonetheless available that help in alleviation and prevention of asthma. A person suffering from asthma may feel completely well at times but the disease has all the possibility of flaring up any time. Managing asthma is the key one can adopt to come to terms with the disease. In broad terms, the two identifiable types of asthma are: Extrinsic asthma and Intrinsic asthma. Extrinsic asthma is caused due to allergy. The immune system's response to allergens such as dust particles, pollen, or animal dander causes Extrinsic asthma. Among both these types of asthma, Intrinsic asthma in not allergy related and the causes of lie in different factors. It can be caused by exercise, laughter, cold air, or other such myriad factors. The best approach to deal with both types of asthma is to work out an asthma management therapy or treatment plan by consulting a registered medical practitioner. Prevention of asthma is very important in its initial stage to avoid severity and complications from developing in future.

There are many factors that can cause asthma symptoms to worsen. These are known as triggers in medical parlance. By consulting a registered physician, one can get sufficient help in identifying triggers that cause asthma attacks. Some of the triggering factors are exercise, viral upper respiratory infections, irritants, certain medicines, allergens, and sulfites. Besides there are other factors that can worsen the effects of asthma which can at best be identified by consulting a registered physician only. Children facing a greater risk of asthma attacks are by far more helpless in dealing with the situation as they have a weaker immune system compared to adults. It is for this reason that they should be given constant attention and medical care.

Most doctors prescribe medications to their patients that work towards prevention of asthma. The two general types of medications for asthma often used by doctors in treating patients are anti-inflammatories and bronchodialators. Anti-inflammatories render protection to the bronchial tubes (airway passage tubes) from irritants present in the air and this helps in stopping an asthmatic attack from occurring. Bronchodialators on the other hand are used during an asthmatic attack and are often used by patients who are under constant threat of such attacks. Natural remedies for asthma are often sought after by a significant number of asthma patients as they carry minimal or no side effects. Besides such medications also help in giving a natural boost to the immune system and thus help in a better way to respond to any future asthmatic attacks. Medications for asthma can help to keep the disease under control, or alleviate the symptoms, or even prevent further damage to the respiratory tract. Avoiding known allergens and respiratory irritants can substantially reduce asthma symptoms. Prior information about the disease helps in creating awareness and taking appropriate steps for prevention of asthma. By taking regular medications for asthma one can manage the disease to a great extent and thus enjoy normal activities in day to day life, possibly devoid of asthmatic attacks.

Aromatherapy For Babies

My two-year old daughter Natalia is asthmatic like me. And I know for a fact that strong scents, molds and mildew, dust mites and household chemicals are among the many allergens that can trigger an attack. She seems to have inherited from me a sensitivity to dust allergens and strong perfumes and heavy scents, so I have always given a doubting frown when it comes to aromatherapy and my little girl.

I have always thought Asthma and Aromatherapy are unlikely to blend together, thus, when her pediatrician suggested aromatherapy for babies as a supporting treatment and therapy for my own six month old asthmatic baby, I was shocked.

My state of disbelief and curiosity got the best of me and I decided to look into and research further on aromatherapy for babies and its possible curative effects. What I have learned has improved my standpoint for this kind of alternative medicine.

Aromatherapy is an age old practice that includes the usage of plant oils and essential oils to treat both physical and emotional ailments. Essential oils are often confused as perfume oils, as I have done so in the past. However, these oils are actually pure and natural essence of plants and are extracted from flowers, trees, barks and seeds thus containing no synthetic ingredients that may aggravate allergy and asthma attacks.

Asthma is a chronic condition that affects the airways, congesting the path for easy breathing. A person who is considered asthmatic is sensitive to a variety of allergens and irritants that would cause the airways to constrict. It is characterized by chronic coughing at night and very early morning, wheezing and noisy breathing and difficulty in breathing or shortness of breath.

With these in mind, I had to make sure that I heard my pediatrician correctly:

Aromatherapy can be used to help my asthmatic baby.

And here are the reasons why the doctor is right:

1. Aromatherapy can be used by application. For asthmatic children and babies, aromatherapy is advised to be used through massage and not through inhalation. As an asthma attack may be triggered by anything that causes stress to respiratory system, strong scents included, aroma-therapists would encourage the use of essential oils via massage and foot reflexology. Massages using essential oils help ease breathing and provide a calming, comforting and warming effect by improving proper blood circulation. This greatly helps our babies have a calm and restful slumber.

2. Essential oils like lemon, lavender, peppermint, ginger and Frankincense are suggested to be beneficial to asthmatics, as they contain properties which are anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, and are good decongestants and bronchodilators. Eucalyptus Oil however is best avoided as it has been found out to make the condition worse.

3. Constant carpet cleaning and sheet changes allow us asthmatics to stay away from dust mites and other allergens that may trigger an attack. However, usage of commercial cleansing and disinfectant products pose threats to asthmatics, as these often contain a high proportion of ingredients that are irritating to our olfactory system.

Using essential oils like teatree and citronella not only cleanses our bedding and general living quarters but also disinfects them from mold, mildew and bacteria growth. These particular essential oils also do not contain heavy scents that can irritate and trigger asthma attacks.

4. Substituting chemical laden skin care baby products with lavender baby bath, diaper cream and massage oils, proves to be beneficial to asthmatic babies due to muted scents and pure and untainted mixture of skin care formula. As such, baby care is made easier and safer with the use of aromatherapy and essential oils.

Since my Natalia turned six months of age, I have religiously adhered to aromatherapy as a supporting treatment for her asthma. The nightly massages have proven to increase our bond as mother and daughter, promoted my daughter's development of high emotional quotient, improved her immune system and most importantly, eased the asthma attacks and reduced its occurrence to nearly half.

Aromatherapy for babies is highly recommended for those without sensitivity conditions, but has been found out to be beneficial to people like us asthmatics. As always, it is best to speak with a licensed aromatherapist and coordinate with your pulmonologist and pediatrician for proper administration and care.

How a Simple Breathing Exercise Can Cure Heartburn, IBS and Asthma

Is it true? Does a simple breathing exercise, practiced for 20 minutes or so during the day, often result in heartburn, allergies and asthma getting better or going away completely?

Doctors treat heartburn today as if it was produced by excess stomach acid. But the drugs they give you to lower your stomach acid (proton pump inhibitors) are known to create a proliferation of bad bacteria and yeasts in your stomach and intestines.

Doctors treat asthma as though it was caused by breathing passages getting swollen and reduced. But the drugs they give you to make the breathing passages less swollen (inhaled corticosteroid sprays) and bigger (albuterol and other bronchodilators) actually make asthma worse. It is clear that the medicines and the treatment approach to allergies, heartburn, asthma, and even irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn's don't work.

Because these medicines treat symptoms, not causes.

And these ailments all may have a common cause.

Evidence that asthma, allergies, acid reflux and Crohn's have a common cause

If they didn't have a common cause, then why would, for instance, excess stomach acid (allegedly the cause of GERD), have anything to do with irritable bowel syndrome? Bowels don't have stomach acid. Yet, people with GERD often have bowel problems. And why would half of asthmatics have GERD symptoms? GERD is supposedly caused by excess stomach acid, while asthma is supposedly caused by inhaling "allergens." Asthma and GERD -- how could they be connected, if they didn't have a common cause?

No, the truth is very different. The truth is in many clinical studies. The truth can be easily tested.

Here is what you need to do. Do this -- but only under the supervision of your doctor. Breathe in and out quickly for one or two minutes. Just that. Just simple hyperventilation. Deep breaths. What do you experience? If you are like 90% of people, you will experience your symptoms.

Do you have asthma? You may have an attack.

Do you have acid reflux? Your stomach may do flip flops.

Irritable bowel? You may have spasms.

Warning: This is serious stuff. ONLY do this under a doctor's supervision. It is a powerful demonstration of what is causing your problems...

Low carbon dioxide levels in your body are making you sick

Because, if you know how, you can eliminate most or all of your gerd, IBS, allergies and often other ailments in a few days. The method addresses the fundamental cause. Your body is very low in something that is a key metabolite for every cell. This substance is at levels far too low for you to be healthy. This substance is naturally occurring in our bodies. And within certain limits, the higher the levels, the healthier we are.

This substance does the following:

• It makes us calmer and less anxious


• It powerfully expands our airways


• It reduces our blood sugar levels


• It reduces our stomach acid


• It reduces our intestinal motility (cuts down on intestinal movement)

What is this substance?

Carbon dioxide.

Far from being a waste product, carbon dioxide is one of the most essential substances and if our levels are too low, we will have the plethora of symptoms that many of us have. By doing simple, relaxing breathing exercises, I got rid of my symptoms in two days. Hundreds of thousands of people have cured themselves. Clinical studies prove it.

You may be able to do it too.