The Importance of Asthma Management: Taking Control of Your Breathing

Asthma is an inflammatory disease that affects the airways. The airways are sensitive and often swell up in response to various triggers. The airway muscles tighten, and the lining becomes inflamed and swollen, producing sticky mucous.

The narrowing of the airways makes it difficult to breathe, causing asthma symptoms. Flare-ups can manifest slowly over hours or days, or they can manifest within minutes. Find out the importance of asthma management.

Identifying Asthma Symptoms

Millions of individuals, including children, suffer from asthma. The condition can be severe, and without treatment, it can become deadly. The cause is unknown, but specialists believe it may be genetic. People can learn how to manage the disease so that they do not experience symptoms.

The symptoms occur as the airways narrow. The main symptoms are shortness of breath, wheezing when breathing, coughing that worsens at night, and chest tightness. When symptoms flare up, the patient suffers from an asthma attack.

Importance of Asthma Management

Good asthma management can help individuals to lead a normal and active life. Medication is often necessary for effective asthma management. Management also involves treating underlying conditions such as allergic rhinitis and hay fever. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can help to prevent a flare-up of asthma symptoms.

Every individual is different, and there is no standard action plan for everyone. Your doctor can create an action plan based on your symptoms, triggers, and other factors. It will help to manage your health and keep asthma under control.

Objectives of Asthma Management

When an individual is diagnosed with asthma, they need to come up with an effective action plan to manage the condition. The goal of asthma management is:

To prevent asthma attacks or flare-ups.
To keep asthma symptoms under control.
To keep the lungs strong and healthy.
To ensure you maintain an active life.

You can keep asthma from interfering with your work, school, sports, or leisure with effective management. An effective management plan is customized to suit each individual.

Identifying Asthma Triggers

Asthma is a relatively common health problem, but the cause is often unknown. The symptoms and severity differ in individuals. Asthma can be triggered by various things in the environment. To ensure good asthma management, you need to identify triggers. Common triggers include:

Physical activity.
Cigarette smoke.
Viral infections, including flu and colds.
Certain foods, drinks, additives, and food preservatives.
Pollen, mold, dust mites, pet dander, and other allergens.
Weather or temperature changes.
Environmental irritants such as dust, smoke, pollution, and heaters.
Chemicals, perfumes, incense, and other strong smells.
Various medications, including anti-inflammatories and aspirin.

Stress and other high emotions can trigger asthma symptoms. Management will depend on the underlying cause, triggers, and other factors, such as overall health.

Taking Control of Your Breathing

There are two categories of asthma medications: preventers and relievers. Patients use relievers when they have symptoms. Reliever medications work when an individual has a flare-up or during an emergency.

They open the airway quickly, providing immediate relief. Preventer medications help to make the airways less susceptible to triggers, reducing inflammation and swelling. Patients must take the preventer medications as prescribed to ensure effectiveness. If you have asthma, find out the triggers and learn to avoid them.

For more on the importance of asthma management, visit RP Wellness. Our offices are in Crown Point and Merrillville, Indiana. Call (219) 939-7130 to book an appointment today.

https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2014/06/managing-asthma

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/asthma/in-depth/asthma-treatment/art-20044284