in

10 Ways to Effectively Manage Your Asthma – 2024 Guide

A boy sitting on a couch, wearing a respirator mask. Concept for asthma.
Source: pexels.com

Over 300 million individuals, both adults and children alike, suffer from varying levels of asthma, including many athletes and celebrities.

Asthma is a common lung condition that causes regular attacks where you can’t breathe properly. Despite having no cure for such conditions, many have managed through it and lead healthy lives.

In this article, we will cover many ways to manage asthma and develop an action plan to live a fulfilling life.

Take Asthma Medications Regularly

When you have this condition, presumably diagnosed in childhood, you must contact a provider and be prescribed medications. That said, many people will ignore their meds, thinking they have no pressing symptoms. That is, of course, until it’s too late.

Asthma is a long-term condition that can only be managed through medications and medication plans with your provider.

You have to manage your medications daily and follow through with how they are prescribed to your doctor, even with no or fewer attacks.

To help you out, you can check online for Singulair Discount Coupon codes, a standard prescription for asthma. It further helps to stay committed to your medications if you can get discounts every time you order a medication refill.

Keep An Asthma Diary

Shot of asian businesswoman writing notes on notepad. Female executive sitting at her desk with laptop taking notes.
Source: teens.aboutkidshealth.ca

To ensure that your provider creates a well-suited asthma management plan, you need a diary to record instances of attacks in a time period.

A typical asthma diary is a shared notebook on which you and your provider can place inputs.

Your provider will list down prescriptions, advice, and notes in your sessions while you can record the attacks and keep track of your current and new triggers.

This is especially helpful if you have severe asthma and you need an effective lifestyle plan to further minimize exposure to triggers.

Coordinate With Your School or Workplace

Your triggers are commonly found in the environment, so it makes sense that to minimize them, you have to be placed in a place with minimal triggers.

In case your asthma persists outside of your home, inform your teachers or employers so they can take extra measures to minimize such triggers.

They can do it by giving you some access or privileges to bring humidifiers or even have dietary restrictions to canteen meals when necessary.

Overall, making an effort to coordinate with your peers helps you become productive without the worry of having an attack.

Learn to Use an Inhaler

Depending on your asthma, some doctors may opt out of taking medications and instead prescribe you an inhaler in case of sudden attacks.

When prescribed as such, be sure to let your provider know to teach you how to use it properly. Because it can be intimidating at first, and you need some coaching to use it to its full potential.

Otherwise, you can watch YouTube videos on instructional guides on using your inhaler. Because when you have asthma, the inhaler is your best friend to save you from such attacks.

Quit Smoking and Stay Away From Smokers

If you’re smoking while being asthmatic, know that it is a great combination to develop diseases and rot your room with tobacco smoke, worsening your condition and probably leading to worse diseases.

Simply put, smoking worsens your condition, and the residual smoke alone could pass up as second-hand smoke.

Know Your Triggers

Dandelion flower. Concept for Asthma Triggers.
Source: mudandbloom.com

Asthma is associated with triggers from different pollens and dirt enough to trigger an attack.

To understand which objects or places are considered triggers, try checking out with your doctor and see what triggers you may discover to understand your condition better.

Get a Flu Shot

Flue shots are significant to children and young adults as they protect their bodies against early childhood diseases and reduce the chances of life-threatening flu symptoms.

For people with this condition, it is recommended that you take a complete set of flu vaccines to boost your system and reduce your chances of getting a worse condition when struck with the flu.

Find a Sport That Works

People with asthma generally avoid physical sports or strenuous activities. However, there are some sports that you can try out that may work for you.

Swimming, basketball, and baseball are typical sports activities, as they are less likely to trigger attacks.

Interestingly enough, doing sports for a long time can ultimately boost your resistance against asthma.

As your body grows, it builds up endurance and trains your lungs to get stronger, helping against attacks and recovering better.

At the same time, it boosts mood since sports naturally promote dopamine and may help in times of frustration or panic from attacks.

Regulate Stress and Anxiety

Regulate Stress and Anxiety
Source: happiness.com

Another contributor to asthma attacks is stress and general negative feelings.

Aside from sports, it might be best to try meditation or stress regulation tactics to manage your feelings better and reduce the chances of a bad attack.

Your mind is very powerful, and teaching it how to calm itself and take control of this condition is beneficial for your overall well-being, especially for situations where all you can do is breathe and fight over it.

Additionally, suppose you have underlying mental conditions like depression. In that case, you should also seek some therapy, as depression often leads to poor adherence to the treatment plan and doubles down on your symptoms.

Promote Clear Air In Your Environment

Environmental factors affect how often your asthma gets triggered and the severity. Ideally, you want to be in a place with good air quality and can remove pollutants such as smoke, spores, and mold.

Regularly cleaning your home or office is essential to promote a safe environment.

You might want to start investing in air cleaners or humidifiers to circulate good air in your place and further reduce the chances of an attack.

Final Thoughts

asthma inhaler on a desk
Source: verywellhealth.com

Asthma is a commonly known condition, but its effects vary from one person to another. Some might have it as life-threatening, and some might not be bothered.

Nevertheless, you must acknowledge this and create ways to live better with asthma.

The points above show what you can do to manage asthma. With proper adherence and some help from your provider, you can build a foolproof plan to live life with asthma.

Written by Kan Dail