Can I Avoid Triggers
It is not always possible to avoid your triggers however reducing exposure to your asthma or allergy triggers may make your symptoms easier to manage.
The first step is to know what your triggers are so you focus your efforts in the right area. Your doctor will be able to help you work this out and give you some helpful advice and tips on how to avoid your triggers.
How To Tell If Your Asthma Is Severe
Doctors differentiate severe asthma from other, milder forms of asthma according to the frequency and intensity of a persons symptoms.
For starters, severe asthma is persistent, which doctors define as asthma that causes symptoms more than twice a week, explains Patricia Takach, MD, an associate professor of clinical medicine in the section of allergy and immunology at the University of Pennsylvanias Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia. For many severe asthma sufferers, symptoms occur daily.
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- Asthma symptoms can be triggered by a range of things.
- Allergic triggers include dust mites, pollen, animal dander and mould.
- Non-allergy triggers include smoke, exercise, cold air and viruses.
- Reducing exposure to substances that trigger allergies and asthma symptoms can help you to control your asthma.
- Ask your doctor about how you can avoid or reduce exposure to triggers of your asthma symptoms.
- Aim for a smoke-free environment, both for yourself and your children.
- Ask your doctor to update your asthma action plan each year.
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Tips To Reduce Exposure To Pollen
The season for pollen allergies can last for several months and occurs when plants are flowering. The timing of your own personal allergy season will depend upon which plants you are allergic to, and when they flower.
A direct way to manage pollen allergies is to reduce your exposure to pollens. Pollen counts are published in the media and can help you to plan to avoid exposure.
To reduce your exposure to pollen during peak times:
- Stay indoors in the morning, if possible grass pollens mainly circulate in the morning.
- Avoid mowing the grass, or wear a mask when you mow if someone else is doing the mowing, stay indoors while they do so.
- Keep windows closed in your home and car.
- Avoid picnics in parks or in the country during the pollen season.
- Wear sunglasses to protect your eyes.
- Plant a low-allergy garden around your home, especially near the windows of your home.
How Can I Tell What Causes And Triggers My Asthma
Figuring out what was going on around you when you had an attack is the first step to identifying your triggers.
Your doctor may also do blood testing or ask you to use a device called a peak flow meter. It measures how much air you exhale and how quickly it comes out. It can alert you to changes in your breathing and the onset of asthma symptoms.
Ask your asthma doctor if using a peak flow meter would help you narrow down the causes of your asthma.
It can be tough to identify them all, and they can change. For example, you might not have been bothered by tree pollen when you were a child, only to have a problem with it as an adult.
Even when you know your triggers, you might have a hard time avoiding them in certain situations. For example, you may notice that your workplace is cleaned with a cleaning product that bothers your lungs.
Thatâs why itâs so important to work closely with the doctor who treats your asthma. They can help you think of strategies to avoid triggers, or at least cut down on the amount of time you spend near them. They can also make sure you have the right medication when an asthma attack does strike.
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Can I Prevent Asthma
Because the exact cause of asthma is unknown, you may not be able to prevent asthma in yourself or your children. You or your child may develop asthma when the bodys immune system is still developing.
Research suggests that you may be able to take some steps to help prevent asthma from developing. They include doing your best to keep your home free of dampness and mold, avoiding air pollution as much as possible, and making a healthy weight a priority for you and your children.
Allergies And Asthma Can Be Caused By Yeast Infections Or Fungal Infections
Medically reviewed by Dr. Vibhuti Rana, PhD. â Written by Dan Jackowiak Nc, HHP and Dr. Atmika Paudel, PhD
Can allergies and asthma be caused by yeast and fungi? Keep reading, the answer may surprise you!
Asthma is a disease, for which the cause is mostly unknown. Some causes can be traced to airborne substances like cement dust, or inhaled chemicals that damage the lungs. Interestingly, yeast and fungi can also cause allergies and asthma.
Typically when some one suffers an asthma attack the lungs and airways become inflamed, which results in:
- Shortness of breath
- A feeling of pressure in the chest
- Intolerance to dairy, especially milk
Another possible âcauseâ that worsens asthma is acid reflux, i.e., acid from the stomach going back up the esophagus and back down into the lungs, causing irritation and gastroesophageal reflux disease .
Allergic reactions to food products are a definite reason of asthma in many people. Food allergies can cause numerous signs of respiratory discomfort including asthma, cough, nasal congestion, excess mucus production, hoarseness, postnasal drip, tonsillitis, sore throat, sneezing, and stuffy nose.
The only way to identify these food allergies is to test them or see a doctor who specializes in Nambudripadâs Allergy Elimination Techniques .
Airborne allergies usually cause:
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Asthma Triggers: Gain Control
This video features medical professionals, families and children living with asthma.
Americans spend up to 90 percent of their time indoors, and indoor allergens and irritants play a significant role in triggering asthma attacks. Triggers are things that can cause asthma symptoms, an episode or attack or make asthma worse. If you have asthma, you may react to just one trigger or you may find that several things act as triggers. Be sure to work with a doctor to identify triggers and develop a treatment plan that includes ways to reduce exposures to your asthma triggers.
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Triggers Of Asthma Attack
Asthma is a condition that inflames and restricts the lungs airways. The inflammations and swelling of airways worsen when an asthma attack takes place, and mucus production rises, making it hard to breathe. Such symptoms can result in wheezing, coughing, and breathlessness.
Several triggers can exacerbate your asthma and boost the risk of an asthma attack leading to a quick visit to an Oklahoma allergy and asthma clinic. Here are a couple of triggers for an asthma attack:
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Causes And Triggers Of Asthma
People with asthma have swollen and “sensitive” airways that become narrow and clogged with sticky mucus in response to certain triggers.
Genetics, pollution and modern hygiene standards have been suggested as causes. But there’s not enough evidence to know if any of these do cause asthma.
Asthma symptoms can happen after exposure to a trigger. Sometimes your symptoms might start immediately. But sometimes they might not start until a few hours after exposure.
Keep a diary to keep track of your asthma symptoms and attacks. This can help you work out what triggers an attack.
When you know your triggers, avoiding them can help you control your symptoms. It can be hard to figure this out, but it will help you prevent asthma attacks.
Asthma triggers can include:
- lifestyle factors – food, cigarette smoke, stress
- allergies – pets and animals, pollen, dust mites
- environment – pollution, weather, indoor environment, damp and mould, the workplace
You can reduce your chance of having an asthma attack by using your preventer inhaler properly. You should bring your reliever inhaler with you in case you need it.
What Are The Symptoms Of An Asthma Attack
Symptoms that may suggest an asthma attack are frequent coughing and wheezing, chest tightness and shortness of breath. These symptoms may occur alone or in combination with other symptoms. A sign that asthma may be present, especially in children, is an excessive number of chest colds or episodes of pneumonia. Because these symptoms are common to other disorders, asthma is often difficult to diagnose. Recognizing and reducing the frequency and severity of symptoms can help prevent further damage to the lungs.
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Allergies Make Asthma More Likely
Children with allergic rhinitis or eczema, or a family history of allergies, are more likely to develop asthma. Children with a food allergy are said to be four times as likely to have asthma as children without a food allergy.
So, if your child is wheezing or coughing, and they also have a history of allergic rhinitis , eczema, or a food allergy, its much more likely that their symptoms are due to asthma.
Sometimes allergies overlap and sometimes your child will grow out of one allergy and develop another. For example, a small child with eczema may go on to have a food allergy, and then, as they get older, hay fever, and then asthma.
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Why Is My Asthma Worse At Night
Asthma that gets worse at night is sometimes called nighttime asthma or nocturnal asthma. There are no definite reasons that this happens, but there are some educated guesses. These include:
- The way you sleep: Sleeping on your back can result in mucus dripping into your throat or acid reflux coming back up from your stomach. Also, sleeping on your back puts pressure on your chest and lungs, which makes breathing more difficult. However, lying face down or on your side can put pressure on your lungs.
- Triggers in your bedroom and triggers that happen in the evening: You may find your blankets, sheets and pillows have dust mites, mold or pet hair on them. If youve been outside in the early evening, you may have brought pollen in with you.
- Medication side effects: Some drugs that treat asthma, such as steroids and montelukast, can affect your sleep.
- Air thats too hot or too cold: Hot air can cause airways to narrow when you breathe in. Cold air is an asthma trigger for some people.
- Lung function changes: Lung function lessens at night as a natural process.
- Asthma is poorly controlled during the day: Symptoms that arent controlled during the day wont be better at night. Its important to work with your provider to make sure your asthma symptoms are controlled both day and night. Treating nighttime symptoms is very important. Serious asthma attacks, and sometimes deaths, can happen at night.
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When To See A Doctor
If a person has any symptoms of a food allergy and suspects that they have an oat allergy, they can see their doctor or an allergist.
A doctor or allergist will be able to carry out tests to determine whether or not oats are causing the allergic reaction.
If a person experiences any severe symptoms, anaphylactic shock, or the symptoms of FPIES, they need immediate medical attention.
A person with an oat allergy may need to avoid certain products. These include certain:
Natural Selection And Evolution
Mutations alter an organisms genotype and occasionally this causes different phenotypes to appear. Most mutations have little effect on an organisms phenotype, health, or reproductive . Mutations that do have an effect are usually detrimental, but occasionally some can be beneficial. Studies in the fly suggest that if a mutation changes a protein produced by a gene, about 70 percent of these mutations are harmful with the remainder being either neutral or weakly beneficial.
studies the distribution of genetic differences within populations and how these distributions change over time. Changes in the in a population are mainly influenced by , where a given allele provides a selective or reproductive advantage to the organism, as well as other factors such as , , , and .
Over many generations, the genomes of organisms can change significantly, resulting in evolution. In the process called , selection for beneficial mutations can cause a species to evolve into forms better able to survive in their environment. New species are formed through the process of , often caused by geographical separations that prevent populations from exchanging genes with each other.
DNA can be manipulated in the laboratory. are commonly used enzymes that cut DNA at specific sequences, producing predictable fragments of DNA. DNA fragments can be visualized through use of , which separates fragments according to their length.
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Common Allergy Triggers Of Asthma Symptoms
Allergy triggers that can lead to asthma symptoms include:
- animal dander especially from cats and dogs
- mould spores which can be worse at certain times of the year
- pollen from grass, weeds and trees and usually occurring seasonally
- workplace substances such as latex, wood dust or flour.
Food allergies do not usually cause asthma themselves, but people with food allergies can be more susceptible to symptoms of asthma. Also, sulphites in food and drink may cause asthma symptoms.
How Do You Reduce Asthma Triggers
Taking steps to reduce your exposure asthma triggers is a key part of asthma control, including:
Is water good for asthma? Staying hydrated with plenty of fluids such as water, juice, and tea can help alleviate asthma symptoms.
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How To Tell If You Have Asthma
When something triggers your asthma symptoms, the membrane lining your airways swells, the muscles around the tubes constrict, and the airways fill with mucus. As these tubes narrow it becomes more difficult to breathe, causing symptoms such as wheezing and coughing, congestion, shortness of breath, and chest tightness or pain. If you have asthma, performing normal daily activities can be strenuous, and it may take longer to recover from a respiratory infection, such as a cold or flu.
An asthma attack or flare-up is a sudden worsening of these symptoms, including severe wheezing, uncontrollable coughing, rapid breathing, sweating, and anxiety. These symptoms require immediate medical attention.
But not everyone experiences asthma in the same way. Symptoms vary from person to person, can change with age, differ between attacks and may intensify during exercise, with a cold, or under periods of elevated stress.
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What Is An Asthma Attack
When you breathe normally, muscles around your airways are relaxed, letting air move easily and quietly. During an asthma attack, three things can happen:
- Bronchospasm: The muscles around the airways constrict . When they tighten, it makes your airways narrow. Air cannot flow freely through constricted airways.
- Inflammation: The lining of your airways becomes swollen. Swollen airways dont let as much air in or out of your lungs.
- Mucus production: During the attack, your body creates more mucus. This thick mucus clogs airways.
When your airways get tighter, you make a sound called wheezing when you breathe, a noise your airways make when you breathe out. You might also hear an asthma attack called an exacerbation or a flare-up. Its the term for when your asthma isnt controlled.
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Forgiveness Is The Last Key To Healing From An Autoimmune Disease
Dont discount this last step it is of critical importance. Dr. Wright identified unforgiveness as the number one block to healing, so its essential to remove that block before moving forward in your healing process. You have a battleground, and it includes the difficulties and hurts youve faced. Its time to lay that all down before the Father and release it to Him.
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but one thing , forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14 KJV
God wants you to forgive those in your families who didnt know how to love or accept you properly. Why should you have a disease because of their shortcomings? Why would you hold their sin in your body? Jesus set the perfect example of forgiveness when He hung, dying on the cross. He said of His murderers, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!
God says that He forgives us as we forgive others. If we want to receive His forgiveness, we need to be willing to forgive those who have hurt us or offended us.
25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses. Mark 11:25-26 KJV
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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