Don’t let asthma knock the wind out of you. Asthma is a lung disorder characterized by sudden fits of wheezing, coughing, or shortness of breath. According to research or other evidence, the following self-care steps may be helpful:
What You Need To Know:
- Clean it up
To avoid triggering asthma attacks, control household and workplace irritants such as dust, mold, smoke, chemicals, and animal dander, and dietary triggers like certain food additives - Keep a healthy body weight
Shed extra pounds to improve breathing and decrease the need for medications - Check out certain antioxidants
30 mg a day of lycopene or 64 mg a day of natural beta-carotene can help prevent exercise-related asthma attacks - Try proven herbal remedies
Supplements containing boswellia extract (900 mg a day), ivy leaf extract (50 drops a day), or tylophora leaf (200 to 400 mg a day) may improve breathing symptoms; children should be given one-half of these amounts or less, depending on body weight - Watch the salt
Avoid aggravating symptoms by limiting the use of table salt and salty fast foods, and by reading labels to find low sodium groceries - See an allergist
Find a specialist to help you build a tolerance to allergens
These recommendations are not comprehensive and are not intended to replace the advice of your doctor or pharmacist. Continue reading the full asthma article for more in-depth, fully-referenced information on medicines, vitamins, herbs, and dietary and lifestyle changes that may be helpful.
