Search
Related Links

 

 

Informative Articles

5 Ways To Determine Your Aging Loved Ones’ Living Status
5 Ways To Determine Your Aging Loved Ones’ Living Status Taking Notice During Family Holiday Gatherings Can Prevent a Crisis Later On By Gina Saxton, RN We live in a very mobile society where families don’t always live in the same town or even...

Benefits of Garlic by www.AyurvedicCure.com
Benefits of Garlic!! A more detailed account of what garlic does for various organs in the human body: If garlic had been created in the laboratory instead of by nature, it would probably be a high-priced prescription drug. A Common Saying...

Guide to finding healthcare information
The Internet is a wealthy source of information and if you're looking for healthcare information, the Internet can be a resourceful vehicle for you to find reliable and trustworthy guides and advice on healthcare products and supplies. It all...

The Last Line of Defense Against Medication Errors: What You Need to Know to Keep your Family Safe
This is a true story. Yesterday, I picked up a new antibiotic prescription for my daughter from my local pharmacy. (We recently adopted my daughter from India where she had recurrent ear infections resulting in severe hearing loss. And,...

USA Leads the World ... In Medical Errors
Based on a comparison of health care systems in six nations, the 2005 Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey found that America led the rest in inefficient care and medical errors. Improper Treatment 34 Percent of the Time ...

 
Living with Asthma

If you have asthma, managing it is an important part of your life. Controlling your asthma means staying away from things that bother your airways and taking medicines as directed by your doctor. If you have asthma, it is important to learn how to take care of yourself.

MAKE AN ACTION PLAN WITH YOUR DOCTOR

It is important that you work with your doctor to make an action plan that you are both happy with. As part of this, you will need to:

* Tell your doctor about all other medications and drugs you are taking, in case one of them affects your asthma.

* Follow your asthma action plan and have regular checkups.

* Learn to use your medication correctly. Ask your doctor to teach you how to use your inhaler. This is very important. If inhalers are not used correctly, less medication gets into the airways.

* If you are having problems taking your asthma medicine, seek your doctor's advice immediately.

IDENTIFY YOUR ASTHMA TRIGGERS

You also need to learn to identify and avoid the things that can worsen or trigger your asthma symptoms.

* If animal dander is a problem for you, keep your pet out of the house and/or at least out of your bedroom and wash your pet often - or even find it a new home.

* Do not smoke or allow smoking in your home.

* If pollen is a problem for you, stay indoors with the air conditioner on when the pollen count is high.

* To control dust mites, wash your sheets, blankets, pillows, and stuffed toys once a week in hot water. You can get special dust proof covers for your mattress and pillows.

* To prevent colds and flu, wash your hands often and get a flu shot every year. Children with asthma should get flu shots, too.

* If cold air bothers you, wear a scarf over your mouth and nose in the winter.

* If you get asthma when you exercise or do routine physical activities like climbing stairs, work with your doctor to find ways to be active without having asthma symptoms. Physical activity is important.

* If you are allergic to sulphites, avoid foods (like dried fruit) or beverages (like wine) that contain them. For example, sodium metabisulphite (E220-227) may also trigger asthma, but not via an allergic reaction. It can be found in wine, home-brewed beer, fizzy drinks, prepared meats and prepared salads.

* Do not allow smoking indoors unless there is a room reserved for smokers and which has a separate ventilation system to exhaust smoke outside. Never allow smoking around anyone with asthma.

* Try to keep humidity levels in the home between 30 and 50 percent. High humidity can promote growth of biological agents that may trigger asthma episodes. Use exhaust


fans or open windows in the kitchen or bathroom areas when cooking, using the dishwasher, or taking showers. Make sure clothes dryers are vented to the outdoors, and use a dehumidifier in the basement if necessary.

* Avoid using humidifiers. If it cannot be avoided, clean it according to the manufacturer's instructions. Refill it daily with fresh water to prevent the growth of harmful microbes.

* Minimize exposure to combustion particles and gases that can cause breathing difficulties for people with asthma. Have combustion-powered furnaces, stoves, or heaters checked yearly to make sure they are operating properly. Change furnace filters according to the manufacturer's instructions, or every month or two during periods of use. Consider installing higher efficiency filters to reduce the number of particles in the air. Never use a gas stove to heat the home, and always use the exhaust fan when cooking on a gas stove.

* Avoid sprays like deodorants, perfumes, or air fresheners, odours from paint, and strong smelling cleaners may start a child's asthma attack.

* Keep the house clean to reduce allergens like microscopic dust mites, pollen, and animal dander. Use an allergen-proof comforter and encase mattresses and box springs in vinyl covers. Wash bedding frequently in hot (130°F) water. Avoid furnishings that collect dust.

MONITOR YOUR ASTHMA

If your asthma is not under control, there will be signs that you should not ignore. The following are some signs that your asthma is getting worse:

* Your asthma symptoms happen more often.

* Your asthma symptoms are worse than they used to be. * Your asthma symptoms are bothering you a lot at night and making you lose sleep.

* You are missing school or work because of your asthma.

* Your peak flow number is low or varies a lot from morning to evening.

* Your asthma medications do not seem to be working very well anymore.

* You have to use your short-acting "quick relief" or "rescue" inhaler more often. (Using quick relief medicine every day, or using more than one inhaler a month is too much)

* You have to go to the emergency room or doctor because of an asthma attack.

* You end up in the hospital because of your asthma.

If your asthma seems to be getting worse, see your doctor. You may need to change your medication or take other actions to get your asthma under control.

For further information on asthma, visit Asthma Experience.

About the author:

David Drinkall is a lifelong asthma sufferer and owner of AsthmaExperience.com (www.AsthmaExprience.com.).

 

National Library of Medicine - National Institutes of Health
Part of the National Institutes of Health, the National Library of Medicine offers access to health information for consumer, patient, and physicians ...
www.nlm.nih.gov
 
Health and Medical Information produced by doctors - MedicineNet.com
Doctor-produced health and medical information written for you to make informed decisions about your health concerns.
www.medicinenet.com
 
Medicine in the Yahoo! Directory
Collection of sites for health professionals, with sections on specific disciplines, organizations, continuing education, conferences, publications, ...
dir.yahoo.com
 
MedlinePlus Health Information from the National Library of Medicine
Health information from the National Library of Medicine. Easy access to Medline and Health topics, medical dictionaries, directories and publications.
medlineplus.gov
 
Medicine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Medicine is a branch of health science and the sector of public life ... The practice of medicine combines both science as the evidence base and art in the ...
en.wikipedia.org
 
Journal Home - Nature Medicine
Nature Medicine has a vacancy for a Locum Assistant Editor for six months. The position involves working in all aspects of the editorial process, ...
www.nature.com
 
The New England Journal of Medicine: Research & Review Articles on ...
The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) is a weekly general medical journal that publishes new medical research findings, review articles, and editorial ...
content.nejm.org
 
eMedicine Clinical Knowledge Base
eMedicine features up-to-date, searchable, peer-reviewed medical journals, online physician reference textbooks, and a full-text article database in 62 ...
www.emedicine.com
 
Open Directory - Health: Medicine
the entire directory, only in Health/Medicine. Top: Health: Medicine (11429). Description · Medical Specialties (4888); Surgery (2265) ...
dmoz.org
 
the www virtual library biosciences medicine
www.ohsu.edu/cliniweb/wwwvl/ - Similar pages
 
Medicine - home
Bimonthly journal covering the latest results in clinical investigation relevant to hospital and office practice.
www.md-journal.com
 
Institute of Medicine
The Institute of Medicine serves as adviser to the nation to improve health.
www.iom.edu
 
ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News
Medical Research News. Health news on everything from cancer to nutrition. Full-text, images, updated daily.
www.sciencedaily.com
 
Google Directory - Health > Medicine
Search only in Medicine Search the Web. Medicine. Health > Medicine, Go to Directory Home. Categories. Alternative Medicine (6308) Basic Sciences (66) ...
www.google.com
 
the world wide web virtual library biosciences medicine
www.mcb.harvard.edu/biopages/medicine.html - Similar pages
 
PLoS Medicine - A Peer-Reviewed Open-Access Journal
PLoS Medicine is a peer-reviewed, international, open-access journal published ... Every issue of PLoS Medicine contains a selection of readers' responses. ...
medicine.plosjournals.org
 
Medicine On-Line - Medicine Online -The International Medical Journal
Medicine Online - independent and peer reviewed journal published by Priory Medical Journals - priory.com.
www.priory.com
 
Entrez PubMed
PubMed is a service of the US National Library of Medicine that includes over 16 million citations from MEDLINE and other life science journals for ...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
 
Stanford University School of Medicine
Home Page of the Stanford University School of Medicine.
med.stanford.edu
 
Medicine OnLine
Meds.com offers medical information and education on cancer (lung cancer, colon cancer, breast cancer, leukemia) and HIV / AIDS for patients, ...
www.meds.com