Thursday

Asthma Prevention

Preventing an asthma attack

There is no documented way to prevent Asthma, how ever there are several methods for asthma treatment. The same questions discussed in “diagnosing asthma” play equally important role in trying to prevent Asthma attacks along with treating asthma.
Identifying triggers asthma attacks as well as their “asthma history” is only one part of the process used to help prevent Asthma Attacks and while seeking effective "asthma treatments".

When discussing asthma prevention and asthma treatments they go hand in hand are can be used almost interchangebly. In otherwords you want to treat asthma prior to an asthma attack. this in turn leads to a proactive type of asthma prevention even though once you have been diagonosed with asthma you will likley deal with the disease and the ways to treat your asthma for the rest of your life.

The individual and especially children can have Asthma attacks from simple exposures to things such as mold (spores), dust mites, smoke (also second hand), weeds, pollen or strong smells. This is especially important if a child has asthma and is often subject to attacks due to exercise. These are only some of the things to consider when dealing with asthma and trying to find ways to prevent asthma attacks or deciding the best form of asthma treatment.

The initial response to attempt to prevent Asthma is not really prevention in as much, as it is avoiding asthma triggers that help launch the asthma attack. To help the indvidual with asthma the strategic approach should look at trying to prevent an asthmatic episode or asthma attacks from triggers. Initially, the person needs to identify if the asthmatic has allergies. Such ways to help prevent asthma attacks is to ask questions such as, What is the person allergic to and what can be done to prevent the trigger from being launched, this is best method from treating asthma or preventing asthma attacks?

How do you find what are the asthma triggers? This can easily be identified at an adult level by getting the scratch test or allergy test. However, finding ways to identify triggers due to allergies may prove a little more difficult in children with the constant changing of their body. However, quickly identifying triggers is the most effective way to prevent asthma attacks.

In hopes of preventing Asthma attacks an allergist will typically scratch the individuals back with an object like pin that has been dipped into a predetermined type of animal or plant compound. For instance, I had a scratch test. I found I was highly allergic to horses. I was also allergic to cats, dogs and even more surprising was when I found out how allergic I was to mold and dust mites. In esseance the best form of "asthma treatment" or best way to prevent an asthma attack was to stay away from those triggers.

Learning what the asthmatic is allergic to helps prevent irritation which leads to discomfort and coughing which in turn leads into wheezing and most likely an Asthma Attack. So, the key to preventing an asthma attack is learning what the Asthma triggers are for each individual. This why someone should help the asthmatic create an asthma log of what was happening when the asthmatic episode started. This is an excellent way to track a child's asthma history as well as
diagnosing asthma.

My research says mold is not really considered a large trigger for asthmatics. I would tend to disagree from my personal experiences. However, if the individual is allergic to mold and the person lives in a damp place then chances are likely the person will suffer an attack from triggers created by mold spores. However with the proper medication and asthma treatment this can be avoided.

One thing to consiser about preventing an asthma attack is to look at where the asthmatic sleeps. If the asthmatic sleeps in a basement they should try to move to an upper level room to sleep. If this is not possible then the person should consider regularly using a dehumidifier. However, the dehumidifier should be emptied and cleaned regularly as to avoid the growth of mold spores.

Dust Mites are often overlooked and are the most abundant trigger to Asthma Attacks. Although most people don’t have the time to do nothing but clean and sweep one area should never be neglected and needs continuous cleaning, the bedroom needs to be vacuumed and dusted weekly. Sheets need to be changed and pillow cases need to be cleaned weekly. Pillows gather large number dust mites and should be replaced annually or as often as possible. This is all related to preventing asthma attacks as well as a prelude to treating people with asthma.

Reducing pet dander is also a key to succeeding in
Asthma prevention. People who can not give up their pets after they find they have asthma need to really pay attention to grooming of their pets. To reiterate it not the pet hair that triggers the asthma attack it is usually pet dander or saliva from the animal. This is why it is essential pets are bathed if they live in the home and hands are always washed after touching animals.

I recently experienced an asthma attack as an adult when giving my outside dog a bath because he was going to be staying inside the house for couple of weeks during upcoming freezing temperatures. I started to give him a bath inside, about midway through his bath my eyes started to get red and I started to have hard time breathing. The fact that I had not had an asthma attack such as this since I was a kid is proof how pet dander can affect an asthmatic. With my
Asthma history
I should have thought it though and asked the wife to give the dog a bath. Although these are some of my experiences the only thing Asthmatics can do is identify what the triggers are and avoid those triggers to prevent Asthma attacks while being proactive in treating your asthma.

Asthma Diagnosis

An Asthma Diagnosis Preview


How I would Diagnose Asthma



Diagnosing asthma is usually pretty easy. However, for a proper Asthma diagnosis an individual should seek attention from their physician. There are some main symptoms associated with an Asthma Diagnosis. Some of these symptoms are: continued wheezing, coughing, trouble breathing, and chest tightness. These symptoms if present can often become worse at night. Additionally, some triggers of Asthma can be cold air, exercise or exposure to allergens such as pollen, mold, pet dander, dust mites or similar allergen triggers. All of which people dealing with asthma or asthma patients should be concerned with when addressing asthma treatment.

A part of the
Asthma diagnosis is seeing if the patient is wheezing, this can be identified when a slight whistling sound is heard when a person breathes in and out. Wheezing can be heard slightly with a stethoscope by placing the scope on the back and chest. One of the first tools a used to diagnosis asthma is the doctors’ stethoscope; this tool can help detect wheezing which may not be obvious to the patient or family or friends.

Wheezing that is inherently heard out loud is usually obvious by a louder whistling sound when the person inhales and exhales. The person with the problem wheezing usually has noticeable problem breathing. The doctor will quickly recognize this when trying to diagnosis asthma. A interesting observation from my doctor was he said patients usually has become so accustomed to the difficulty breathing that it is a part of their daily lifestyle. I know this is true for me and often don’t realize when I am wheezing.

Due to patients not noticing how difficult their breathing has become, the doctor attempting to diagnosing asthma will usually ask someone close to the person if they notice the patient having difficulty breathing.

If you have been around a smoker, the wheezing and trouble breathing from a person suffering from a mild asthma attack can easily be compared to anyone that has been around a long term smoker. Wheezing is not only common to people with Asthma it is also a temporary problem for people suffering from bronchitis. Coughing as a symptom of Asthma most likely is a prelude to asthma attack and is only one of many symptoms to occur. Although coughing could be as simple as a tickle in an individuals throat it could be the beginning of something worse for an asthmatic.

An example of a trigger for coughing could result from exercising or being involved in a similar strenuous activity. The asthmatic could start to partially cough, then continue to cough harder. Most likely the next symptom of the beginning of an Asthma attack will be trouble breathing; this is usually after their coughing spell has subsided. If this experience is observed it will be beneficial to share with the doctor trying to Diagnosis Asthma. My experience is trouble breathing with slight wheezing is an excellent indicator that an asthma attack is about to occur.

Trouble breathing as related to asthma is usually caused by the combination of allergies, physical exertion or something irritating the individuals normal breathing pattern. If there has been coughing, wheezing followed by trouble breathing chance are person is likely on the verge of a full fledged asthma attack. Chest tightness and shortness of breath with the combination of wheezing is a prelude to the asthma attack. This is why it is is important to seek some form of
asthma testing.

Although the following isn’t an “asthma diagnosis” it is still important to recognize what a possible attack is in the event you need to describe what you witnessed if a diagnosis needs to be made. Once the asthma attack is at the height of its final stage the individual will not be able to take a full breath and most likely rapid breathing begins in the hope they can be able to breathe normally. However, rapid breathing is a part of the problem and the person should try to prevent rapid breathing, this only cause’s tightness of the chest and some panicking, a partially panicked person can not get their breath. The problem with rapid breathing is the person having the attack is not taking in enough air to keep oxygen in the blood. This also can lead to dry land drowning as is with toxic chemical exposures. Although this is my version and experience of an Asthma attack it is still up to the doctor to accurately decide if he is correct in an
asthma diagnosis.

Monday

Asthma History

Researching Asthma History

Researching the history of my Asthma

The Researching Asthma history was difficult and little was found about the first documented incidents where people had their first Asthma attack with symptoms such as difficulty breathing and coughing. In additon little was available for Asthma treatments. However, when researching the history I found on many occasions where many researchers noticed asthmatics were genetically prone to being born with Asthma. This information was disconcerning know that their not really all that much you can do when comes to asthma prevention. Being a new father this really bothered me that I may pass this along to my kids or grand kids. Thus, passing along my asthma history.

Some of the best in information I read was about the "history of Asthma" was obtained from the Melbourne study and a posting by the New England Journal which also provided excellent examples about
asthma treatment. In researching asthma history I found a couple websites stating 70% of all asthmatics had asthma within the first 3 years of their lives. A common reoccuring theme during my research was surprisingly enough wheezing can not necessarily classify infants as having Asthma because many children have smaller airways and as their lungs and airways grow they may outgrow wheezing. So, know this people should jump to conclusion if babies are wheezing. They should be concerned with Asthma testing rather than Asthma Treatments.

In a recent study about diagnosing asthma I read they took a sample of 1000 children and about 800 of these children has some type of wheezing by age six. The study of "asthma history" also said that children with continued wheezing were likely to develop asthma. One of the interesting studies regarding Asthma history in children for the first six years of life was the study stating children born with asthma usually had normal lung function until the age of 10 or 11 then they slowly loose lung function over time due to Asthma regardless of Asthma Treatment.In additions other studies shows having a mother with a history of asthma doubles the risk of childhood asthma. In this case I tried to find way to treat a fetus in a pregant woman, as expected their was no information available regarding that type of Asthma treament.

One of the progressions of
Asthma history into which I fit was a study of people that have asthma at age 42. A study I read said there was 30-70% chance that the adult would have clinical remission in late adolescence or early adulthood. However, 27% of asthmatics being monitored that had wheezing ended up in remission, unfortunately 12% who had undergone a remission eventually had some type relapse of Asthma no matter what type of Asthma treatment they had. As a part of my reading on Asthma History I found statements from research were the estimated that 70% percent of children with Asthma were likely to be male. Unfortunately, after adulthood the majority of adults with Asthma were women.

Some common questions regarding Asthma are establishing the Asthma History. Some questions used to establish a history of asthma is questions such as, does the child wheeze, show dyspnoea (shortness of breath) or cough which transfers to shortness of breathe? Is the children’s sleep disturbed because of wheezing or trouble breathing? Additionally another question to establish if there is a asthma history, ask if the person, child or adolescent has trouble breathing after exercise. Another quantifying “asthma history” question related to the number of times the individual thinks they missed work or school because of possible asthmatic episodes with or without a treatment of asthma

I was hoping to find more information relating to the history of Asthma however most of my research showed how to research and establish if a person that is not sure if they have asthma has had factors in their past history that would point to them being an asthmatic. Some of these had to deal with allergens but also had to deal with emotional stresses as establishing treatment of Asthma and their Asthma history.

Friday

Dealing With Asthma

My Asthma Story


This blog is presented by an individual who has had "ASTHMA" since birth and continues to deal with Asthma. I am not a doctor and I am interested in sharing my experiences both good and bad. This blog will discuss and review commonly accepted facts or truths as presented in the community regarding asthma, asthma treatment, asthma triggers and ways to prevent "asthma attacks". This blog will also discuss some of the methods used to control "asthma" whether it is by using over the counter Asthma medication, breathing techniques or potential herbal remedies or other various methods of Asthma Treatment. Again, I am not a doctor and anything represented here in is a product of either experience or by research online of through communication with others. This blog will only give you clues I have expereinced and read about when it comes to Asthma and diagnosing asthma.

Any
treatment of asthma should be reviewed, discussed and approved by the patient and their physician. I can't ephazise more than enough how this blog is only here to share experiences and opinions related to Asthma and various methods of asthma treatment and asthma prevention. I hope to provide "Asthma help" through my experiences "dealing with Asthma". I spent many nights in the hospital because of Asthma, compounded by sinus problems. I have used all types of asthma medications and a variety of Asthma treatments since 1973. I plan to discuss and research the following information about asthma as it relates to me personally, while sharing my research I have found as relating to asthma treatments and asthma medications. I inted to start out discussing the "history of Asthma", "Diagnosing Asthma", "Asthma Prevention", ways of "testing for Asthma" prescriptions used for Asthma, using Asthmatic tolls such as a Nebulizer, dieting and asthma, common asthma statistics and possible asthma prevention. I have no idea which I will address first. I will most likely share the history of asthma and asthma statistics.

About me:

Dealing with Asthma as a kid I remember my parents trying to sit me in a warm bath as was suggested by doctors as a form of Asthma Treatment. As a kid I did not want to do this. So, my point is if a kid continually does not want to do something during an Asthma attack or asthmatic flare up don’t make them do it. Of course, this is after trying the same kind of Asthma treatment a couple of times. If the kid has tried it and doesn’t want to do it, I suggest you don’t make them do it. Kids know what works and what doesn’t. I say this because my experience has taught me that being in a warm\hot place when having an asthma attack makes things worse for me. For instance anyone that has ever gone swimming and went to the deep end of a pool can feel the pressure on their body and chest. Think about a child having trouble breathing and throwing them into a warm bath. Does this not put more pressure on their chest making it even more difficult to breathe? If having something warm helps when they are having an asthma attack, put them in a warm shower. I also remember doctors telling us that extreme cold helps "trigger" Asthma Attacks. I would tend to agree it aggravates my asthma. However, my earlier experience my father cracked open my bedroom during the winter thus helping freshen up my stuffy room and helping me breath (maybe something was triggering my attack). This relaxed me and helped me with my Asthma.


My point is something that assit kids in treating their asthma, is finding something that relaxes them. This is not the same as distracting them. Sometimes the simple stoking of the hair on the head of a child could help the child to relax. If you are interested in adding a story about "dealing with Asthma" or a successful for of Asthma Treatment, let me know