Hints and Tips for dealing with asthma

Having seen this on the BBC this morning (bbc.co.uk/news/health-27257... where it's pointing out that clinical care isn't all it could be for asthmatics, and that we have to be experts in our own treatment. I thought it might be a good idea to get people to pool their hints and tips on dealing with asthma. I'm sure we all have different things that work for us that we've learnt along the way for ourselves and not from medical professionals that it might be good to pass on.

My first one would be:

DON'T ever use your reliever inhaler for an attack until you have moved well out of the way of the cause of the attack. If you do you will breath in way more of the cause of the attack and do much more longer term damage. Get well away first, then use your inhaler and get in clean air rather than air laden with whatever your trigger was in the first place.

My second would be:

Make your teenagers use their deodorant/body sprays in their own rooms not the bathroom, or get rid of the aerosols altogether.

*Moderator edit: changed BBC link to clickable hyperlink only

[yaf_user681_56508]

Hello, I've just registered as a new user. Thanks for the advice re. getting away from the source of irritation before using the reliever inhaler. How sensible and I'd never considered it. Regarding deodorant aerosols, my partner goes outside in all weathers, baring his chest to the neighbours to use his deodorant!

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A negative response to emotional stress can cause an asthma attack. Some natural relaxation remedies like deep abdominal breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery, and biofeedback can help relieve stress.

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Having had asthma for the majority of my 18 years I've come up with a few things to make my life a tad easier.

Considering cold weather and temperature changes sets off my lungs I tend to wrap a scarf over both my nose and mouth when venturing outside in these conditions.

I also keep all of my asthma stuff in one box that has a handle and closes securely (I never had a standard home for everything until I got this box) I keep this next to my bed thus giving me easy access if I wake up in the night. This box also keeps my eczema steroid cream safe as I have previously misplaced it...

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When I started attending signing lessons as a youth they taught me to breathe using diaphragm rather than lifting the shoulders as it uses your whole lung capacity rather than just the top half.

My peak flow results went up quite a lot at my next asthma review... coincidental?? I won't delve into the subject of breathing, but most people don't use their lungs anyway near as efficiently as they can be. Google diaphragm breathing - it could help us asthma guys get the most out of what we've got!

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I avoid smoke at all costs lol.

also good advice re sprays etc.

as my pharmacists said, for an asthmatic we can be fine with something 10 times in a row and then its the 11th time that'll get us. I thought that was putting it well.