How To Stop Asthma Wheezing

Make Changes To Your Diet

There is no specific diet for asthma patients but the exclusion and inclusion of a few elements in your diet can make a considerable change. Being overweight has been known to affect and trigger asthma symptoms. Include lots of fruits and vegetables in your diet. To reduce the inflammation around your airways, consider sources rich in Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and beta-carotene. Omega 3 found in salmons, mackerels are also known to help with inflammation. If any particular food seems to make your symptoms much worse, make a note and avoid consuming it.

Are Asthma Medicines Safe When You’re Breastfeeding

Asthma medicines do get into your breast milk, but the amounts are very low and are safe for the baby. If you take high doses of certain asthma medicines, like theophylline, your baby may become irritable or have trouble sleeping. To help prevent this, take your asthma medicines 3 or 4 hours before the next feeding. Your provider and your babys provider can help you adjust your medicine schedule so you and your baby can get the health benefits of breastfeeding.

Last reviewed: November, 2013

What Are The Symptoms Of Asthma

While symptoms vary from person to person, the most common signs of mild asthma include:

• difficulty breathing feeling breathless, even while resting, or being unable to finish full sentences before needing to take another breath
• wheezing making a whistling sound while breathing
• coughing either at specific times or after certain activities

During a severe asthma attack, you may notice more serious symptoms, such as:

• feeling very distressed, exhausted or even limp from trying to breathe
• deep sucking motions at the throat or chest while trying to breathe

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Identifying Asthma Triggers With Allergy Testing

Determining what triggers a persons asthma is often difficult.

Allergy testing is appropriate when there is a suspicion that some avoidable substance is provoking attacks. Skin testing Skin testing Allergic reactions are inappropriate responses of the immune system to a normally harmless substance. Usually, allergies make people sneeze the eyes water and itch… read more can help identify allergens that may trigger asthma symptoms. However, an allergic response to a skin test does not necessarily mean that the allergen being tested is causing the asthma. The person still has to note whether attacks occur after exposure to this allergen. If doctors suspect a particular allergen, a blood test that measures the level of antibody produced in response to the allergen can be done to determine the degree of the person’s sensitivity to the allergen.

What Types Of Asthma Are There

Healthcare providers identify asthma as intermittent or persistent . Persistent asthma can be mild, moderate or severe. Healthcare providers base asthma severity on how often you have attacks. They also consider how well you can do things during an attack.

Asthma can be:

• Allergic: Some peoples allergies can cause an asthma attack. Molds, pollens and other allergens can cause an attack.
• Non-allergic: Outside factors can cause asthma to flare up. Exercise, stress, illness and weather may cause a flare.

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Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a progressive inflammation of the lungs that makes breathing difficult. It is caused by long-term exposure to irritating gases and/or dust particles, most often cigarette smoke.

Symptoms may take years to develop. They include a chronic cough with mucus , wheezing, chest tightness, fatigue, constant colds, swollen ankles, and cyanosis Depression is often a factor due to reduced quality of life.

Treatment is important because there is a greater risk of heart disease and lung cancer in COPD patients. Though the condition cannot be cured, it can be managed to reduce risks and allow good quality of life.

COPD is commonly misdiagnosed and so careful testing is done. Diagnosis is made through patient history physical examination lung function tests blood tests and chest x-ray or CT scan.

Treatment involves quitting smoking and avoiding exposure to other lung irritants use of inhalers to ease symptoms steroids lung therapies and getting influenza and pneumonia vaccines as recommended.

Rarity: Common

Top Symptoms: fatigue, cough and dyspnea related to smoking, cough, shortness of breath, trouble sleeping

Symptoms that always occur with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease : cough and dyspnea related to smoking

Symptoms that never occur with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease : rectal bleeding

Urgency: Primary care doctor

Effective Ways To Treat Asthma At Home

In people with asthma, the airways become narrow and produce a lot of mucus. It triggers difficulty in breathing, wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath. Several factors can increase the risk of suffering from asthma. Some of the risk factors include having a blood relative with asthma, smoking, being overweight, and passive smoking. For some people, asthma doesnt pose many problems. However, there are others who suffer from asthma attacks.

Are you tired of having to latch on to your inhaler and your asthma medications? Do not let them go just yet. Make a few changes to your lifestyle see your symptoms ease up a lot.

10 Home Remedies for Asthma are:

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Side Effects Of Steroid Tablets

Oral steroids carry a risk if they are taken for more than three months or if they are taken frequently . Side effects can include:

• easy bruising
• muscle weakness

With the exception of increased appetite, which is very commonly experienced by people taking oral steroids, most of these unwanted effects are uncommon.

However, it is a good idea to keep an eye out for them regularly, especially side effects that are not immediately obvious, such as high blood pressure, thinning of the bones, diabetes and glaucoma.

You will need regular appointments to check for these.

Want to know more?

• Asthma UK: side effects of asthma medicines

Symptoms Of An Asthma Attack

Signs that you may be having an asthma attack include:

• your symptoms are getting worse
• your reliever inhaler is not helping
• youre too breathless to speak, eat or sleep
• your breathing is getting faster and it feels like you cannot catch your breath
• your peak flow score is lower than normal
• children may also complain of a tummy or chest ache

The symptoms will not necessarily occur suddenly. In fact, they often come on slowly over a few hours or days.

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How Do I Find Out The Cause Of My Wheezing

To determine the cause of your wheezing, your doctor will ask questions about your symptoms and what triggers them. For example, if you have no history of lung disease and you always wheeze after eating a certain food or at a certain time of year, the doctor may suspect that you have a food or respiratory allergy.

The doctor will listen to your lungs with a stethoscope to hear where the wheezing is and how much wheezing you have.

If this is the first time you’ve been evaluated, your doctor will probably ask you to perform a breathing test and may also order a chest X-ray.

Other blood tests and procedures may be necessary, depending on what the doctor learns from interviewing and examining you.

If it seems like allergies may be related to your wheezing, there are a variety of other tests your doctor may use to verify allergies, including skin testing or blood tests.

How To Stop Wheezing In A Baby And Children

Wheezing can be a daunting condition in babies and children. Although wheezing, cold and cough are common illnesses in younger ones, they are always distressing conditions. In children, wheezing is more commonly associated with a cough and cold, allergic reaction to certain fragrances or aroma, but not asthma.

• When your baby suffers from wheezing, apply a warm cloth or apply vapor rub on chest and back to soothe the baby.
• Feed the baby with warm liquids in fewer quantities.
• Dont give any medicines without prescription of a doctor.

Take your child immediately to a doctor, if you notice any of the following conditions:

• Too much trouble in breathing, rapid or irregular breathing.
• Fever accompanied by wheezing
• When the color of the skin turns dark or blue
• When the child appears exhausted
• When the child refuses to eat or drink anything
• When any of the nostrils is completely blocked
• When the baby chokes

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Tips To Prevent Nighttime Asthma Attacks

Nighttime asthma attacks can be controlled. Take these steps to sleep better with severe asthma.

Many people with severe asthma find that symptoms like coughing, wheezing, and breathlessness are worse at night. There are a number of reasons why this is so, says Sonali Bose, MD, an assistant professor in the division of medicine, pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City.

Some key factors that contribute to nighttime asthma attacks include:

• Your bodys internal clock. Your circadian rhythm causes some of your hormone levels to fall at night. Lower levels of hormones can cause your airways to narrow slightly. These narrowed airways can exacerbate your asthma symptoms, according to the Asthma Society of Canada .

• Dust mites. Your pillows, blankets, and mattress can all be a haven for these microscopic insect-like pests and their waste. Allergies to dust mites can worsen asthma, and you could be wallowing in them as you sleep, according to the ASC.

• Gravity. When you lie down, your chest and lungs naturally experience extra pressure, the ASC says.

What Medications Can Help With Asthma

Asthma attacks, airway inflammation, and other issues can be controlled or prevented in many cases. Certain medications can be taken every day, like inhaled corticosteroids and leukotriene modifiers. These can help a child live more easily with their asthma and live a more active life. Of course, rescue inhalers will help too, and can be vital for a child.

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Clean Sheets + A Clean Body = A Good Nights Sleep

If you are coughing at night and you are not sick, it may be time to do some detective work. Take a good look at your room and see if you need to vacuum, wash your sheets, or shower before bed if you have allergies.

Some people may also have problems if they have acid reflux, and that can trigger their asthma when they lay down at night to sleep.5

Talk to your doctor and see if they can help you find out whats going on.

Lets all get a good nights sleep. I dont know about you, but I am a much nicer person when I get a good nights sleep!

Is It Safe To Take Asthma Medicine During Pregnancy

Asthma symptoms that dont stop or that get worse can be a risk to your and your baby. If you were taking asthma medicine before pregnancy, dont stop taking it without talking to your provider first.

If youre diagnosed with asthma during pregnancy, talk to your provider about the best way to treat or manage it.

If youre already getting allergy shots, you can keep taking them during pregnancy. But if you arent getting allergy shots, dont start taking them when youre pregnant because you could have a serious allergic reaction called anaphylaxis.

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Do You Need Any Special Tests If You’re Pregnant And Have Asthma

If your asthma is under control and mild, you may not need any special tests. If your asthma is not well controlled or if your asthma is moderate to severe, your provider may recommend repeated ultrasounds to check to make sure your babys growing normally. Ultrasound uses sound waves and a computer screen to show a picture of your baby inside the womb. Your provider may start these at around 32 weeks of pregnancy.

Your provider also may recommend taking your babys heart rate with a fetal heart monitor. This allows him to check on your babys well-being.

Test results can alert your provider if you or your baby needs special care.

Home Remedies For Asthma In Cats

There are several home remedies that can ease the symptoms of asthma in your cat or kitten, with many involving a change in your cats environment, removing things that may trigger an asthma attack.

Clean, moist air

Dry air can be a contributory factor to wheezing and asthma. Drying out the lining of your cats breathing passages, air that lacks moisture droplets can lead to coughing, both in our feline friends and us humans. An easy solution is to use an efficient humidifier that adds moisture to the air inside your home, creating a much healthier atmosphere for every member of the family.

Also, try to ensure that there are no fumes or irritants in the air. Paint fumes, secondhand cigarette smoke, scented kitty litter, or even strong perfume can all upset your cats delicate airways.

Healthy diet

Making sure your cat has a healthy diet that supports his immune system can help prevent asthma developing, and aid a rapid recovery from any coughs and sneezes. Giving a daily multivitamin supplement is a good idea, and I give my cat Vetflix Pet Vitamins. Available as a tincture, its easy to administer with the included dropper, and seems to taste okay according to my cats reaction, anyway.

Reduce feline stress

If your cats asthma is not improving, or you are concerned, give your local vet clinic a call.

Watch this video for more asthma remedies:

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Warm Compress For Chest Shoulders And Back To Stop Wheezing

Remember, your mother or grandma applying the vapor rub on your chest and back when you suffered from cold and blocked nose during childhood?

When you suffer from wheezing, it affects the muscles and nerves in the chest, shoulders and back. Giving a warm compress on chest and back relaxes your upper body and provides relief from breathing difficulty.

Soak a cloth in hot water and place it on your chest, upper back and shoulders, for 10 to 15 minutes. Repeat it twice or thrice a day and you can find a lot of improvement in your wheezing. You will be able to breathe easily.

How Is Asthma Treated During Pregnancy

Your health care provider needs to monitor your lungs while you are pregnant so he can adjust your asthma medicines, if needed. Tell your provider if your symptoms improve or get worse. By limiting your contact with allergens and other asthma triggers, you may need to take less medicine to control your symptoms.

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Of : Evaluating The Childs Breathing

Healthy Tips And Diet For Asthma Patients

• Avoid cold and damp places.
• Go for morning and evening walk for at least 30 minutes.
• Avoid tobacco, wine, smoking, overeating.
• Keep rooms well ventilated.
• Avoid perfumes, incense sticks, mosquito repellants.
• Drink plenty of water is the best natural treatment of Asthma.
• Avoid excessive exercise and indulgence in sex.
• Eat foods with omega-3 fatty acids, which are found in fish like salmon, sardines and some plant sources like, flaxseed- are believed to have a number of health benefits.
• Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.
• Yoga improves the strength, flexibility, and capacity of the lungs, the three necessary components of overall fitness. Yoga therapy improves lung functions and reduces the frequency of exacerbations. It emphasizes conscious breathing and includes relaxation.
• Medication has beneficial effects on personality, emotions, and psyche. After medication, the asthmatic person can learn to come to a place of peace and stillness.
• Postures recommended for bronchial asthma are: Shirshasana, Dhanurasana, Chakarasana, Bhujangasana, Supta vajrasana are highly beneficial in asthma condition.
• Avoid reckless over-the-counter asthma medication as much as possible

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Tips From Other People With Asthma

If your asthma is keeping you awake at night, youre not alone.

In our recent sleep survey, 45% of people told us they have difficulty sleeping because of their asthma at least once a week, and nearly 50% said theyd had an asthma attack at night.

Here are some of the things that people tell us help them get a good nights sleep, which our nurses agree might be helpful:

• Ease a dry throat with a glass of water
• Try a nasal saline rinse or use decongestants to unblock a stuffy nose
• Take regular exercise
• Relax in the evening using mindfulness, meditation, breathing exercises or yoga
• Avoid caffeine in the afternoon and evening.

If you find reading about other peoples experiences useful, or have some advice to share, join the conversations on our HealthUnlocked forum.

Is your child disturbed by symptoms at night? Read our advice on asthma and your childs sleep.