Healthy Living Tips When You Have Asthma

 

Having asthma can be frustrating at best, and scary at worst. It’s a difficult condition to deal with, and it affects all ages. It’s one of the most common chronic conditions in the U.S., and it’s among the top chronic diseases in children in particular.

When you have asthma, you may feel like your lifestyle revolves around managing your symptoms s, but there are proactive things you can do lifestyle-wise that will mitigate your symptoms and help you live a healthy, fulfilling life.

Stay On Top of Medications

There are a variety of medications that are prescribed to people who have asthma, including options like the Advair Diskus. With the Advair Diskus and some other medicines that are used to treat asthma there aren’t currently generic versions available, so they can be very expensive which can deter people from keeping up with their medications.

It’s important that you do stay on top of medicines and follow your physician’s instructions. If you are concerned about it, you can join a prescription discount program, which offers savings specifically for brand name prescriptions.

Most doctors will provide patients with two types of medications when they have asthma. One is a fast-acting treatment, and the other would be a more long-term drug, and you should always make sure you’re taking your long-term medicine as instructed by your doctor.

Know Which Exercises Work For You

It’s really important to stay physically active when you have asthma, but it can also be difficult. What’s best is to know the types of exercise and physical activity that are well-suited to having asthma. For example, options like swimming and walking can work well, as well as weight training.

There are some things that should be avoided by people with asthma, particularly if it’s severe, such as basketball. It’s important to find an activity you’re comfortable with, or a few exercise options because if you aren’t active and gain weight, it can exacerbate asthma symptoms.

Know Your Triggers

If you have asthma and you haven’t yet had allergy testing, or you haven’t had it done recently, you may be unknowingly exposing yourself to irritants and triggers.

Another way to identify triggers is to keep a journal with you so that you can write down where you were and what you were doing when you started having asthma symptoms.

Pay Attention To Your Diet

There are food triggers that can bring about asthma symptoms that you should be aware of, but in addition to that, there are other dietary considerations to keep in mind.

For example, certain fruits like bananas and apples have a lot of sugar, which can increase mucus production. Foods that are fried, processed or hard to digest can trigger an asthmatic reaction as well.

Also, make sure you drink a lot of water to help prevent mucus secretion.

Finally, if you have asthma, you should have a plan in place for what you will do if you experience an asthma attack. You want to make sure you’re ready and prepared. If you feel like your asthma has gotten to the point where it’s causing problems in your quality of life you should speak with your doctor about how to change your current treatment plan.