Asthma

Is Exercise Advisable For People With Asthma?

Karina Jacobsen

Many people mistakenly think that those with asthma cannot and should not exercise. Contrary to this common belief, it is indeed possible, and even recommended that asthmatics get in shape and exercise. Exercise and asthma can go together quite well if proper precautions are undertaken.

Defining Asthma

Asthma is a chronic lung disease. Its symptoms include shortness of breath, wheezing, and coughing. Symptoms can be mild or life threatening. It is thought there is a genetic link to asthma as well as environmental triggers.

An asthmatic episode can be set off by allergens, exercise, and respiratory infections. Dust mites and roaches are known to aggravate asthma and a big part of the management of the disease is cleaning the living environment to get rid of these pests.

Controlling Asthma

Follow these tips to help reduce asthmatic episodes:

1. Reduce pet dander by bathing your pets once a week.

2. Do not smoke. Do not let anyone else smoke in your house.

3. Monitor pollen and mold counts. Stay indoors when levels are high.

4. Wash bedding at least once per week in hot water. Pillows included.

5. Decrease chances of picking up viral illnesses by washing hands often.

6. Take a flu shot every year.

7. Protect your airways by covering your mouth and nose with a scarf in cold weather.

8. Identify your personal triggers and learn how to avoid them.

Exercising with Asthma

Your doctor will probably advise you not to abandon sports or exercise because you have asthma. You will just need to be cautious and smart about how you play. Remember to have your inhaler and medications close by. If you have been wheezing the day of exercise or the night before, then go easy until you can determine how your airways will react.

Exercise Induced Asthma

There is a condition known as exercise induced asthma (EIA). With EIA, asthmatic symptoms will occur after approximately 10 minutes of exercise and occurs more frequently in dry and cold air.

Even with exercise induced asthma, you still have a wide variety of sports to participate in such as swimming, biking, and team sports.

The most important aspect of controlling your asthma during exercise and otherwise is to know your triggers and be consistent in your treatment. Asthma attacks are often easier to prevent than they are to reverse, So be consistent with medications and trigger avoidance. Consult with your doctor on a regular basis and take responsibility for managing and preventing your symptoms.

About the author:
Karina Jacobsen is a staff writer at Wellness Digest (http://www.wellness-digest.com) and is an occasional contributor to several other websites, including Alternative Health Advisor (http://www.alternativehealthadvisor.com).

Effective Asthma Treatments

Morgan Hamilton

Despite the fact that asthma treatment has progressed significantly over the last few decades, according to the resources online more than half a million people are year and about 4000 others die because of asthma. In fact asthma can be quite debilitating for people who are not properly managed medically, and especially for children. Asthma treatment is strictly individual for every patient and depends on the age and the severity of the symptoms. Usually asthma is either hereditary or due to the environment and all the allergens and chemical triggers that enter our respiratory system from there and cause constrictions of the bronchiole airways along with excessive production of mucous.

Other triggers of asthma attacks can be stress, anxiety, strong excitement, excessive laughing. In addition symptoms are becoming much worse during physical exercise or respiratory infections. The cardinal symptoms that alarm for an imminent asthma attack are such as being out of breath, wheezing, coughing and waking up from coughing during the night and chest tightness. If those symptoms appear they should be treated immediately or the asthma attack will progress.

Prescription and non-prescription medication is available for asthma treatment. With the milder and the intermittent cases of asthma over-the-counter bronchodilators are usually more than enough efficient. Moderate to severe cases on their hand do require more profound asthma treatment consisting of inhaled corticosteroids for a long-term treatment and for prevention of the symptoms as well. With the help of those medications both lung inflammation and sensitivity to irritants are being decreased.

For immediate relief of the symptoms in case asthma attack occurs, physicians usually prescribe a short or a long acting bronchodilator. Many of the asthma treatments include a combination of therapies. Immunotherapy for example is a very effective asthma treatment that consists of exposing the patient to increasing amounts of different specific allergens over a certain period of time, usually a few years, and thus reducing and/or eliminating asthma symptoms. The same immunotherapy can be a good option for the patients whose asthma is primarily caused by allergens.

In case the medication does not control the symptoms of asthma sufferers, they should consult a physician. An easy to spot sign for that is the frequent use of rescue inhalers no matter if they are of the prescription or non-prescription type. In such cases a change in the asthma treatment is in order. People with asthma should also be encouraged to exercise on a regular basis in order to strengthen their heart and lungs, instead of having to limit their activity. With asthma well under control the symptoms don't appear even during a physical exercise and rescue inhalers are not needed at all. Information regarding the variety of asthma treatments is available online, as well as from your physician and from all the asthma and allergy centers across the country. Breathe easily!

About the author:
Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning health. Get the information you are seeking now by visiting clicking here .

*The opinions and assertions of these authors are in no way associated with or verified by Tuxedo Pharmacy. As always, these articles are provided for information purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for medical care. Consult you doctor about your specific medical conditions. For more informational articles addressing everyday health concerns, visit www.goarticles.com.