In the US, nearly 17 million people are afflicted with asthma symptoms. As many as one-third of these are children. Asthma is largely incurable. Most people just learn to live with it. The best possible way is to avoid things, external and internal, that trigger asthma. The best way is to identify these agents and stay away from them to reduce the risks of an asthma attack.

Recognizing Asthma Symptoms

To combat an asthma attack, you first need to recognize the symptoms. Asthma attack symptoms include uncontrollable cough, tightness in the chest and shortness of breath. You should call for immediate medical attention if there is extreme difficulty in breathing. During very severe asthma attacks, you will have trouble walking or talking, your nostrils will flare and your fingers nails might turn blue or grey in color.

What Triggers Asthma

Asthma symptoms can strike a person at any age. Though it has no well-defined cause, often a family history of asthma can be identified. Stress is a major cause that can induce an asthma attack. In fact, asthma attacks after a stressful day at work are much worse than most other attacks. Cold air, pollen, animal hair, perfumes and respiratory infections can trigger asthma attacks. These are just a few of the causes but in most cases these conditions are not easy to avoid.

How To Combat Asthma Attack?

If you are an asthma sufferer, you need to follow your doctors medical advice religiously. Do not discontinue your medications on your own as this might trigger a severe asthma attack.

Watch for the patterns that induce attacks in you. Keep a notebook to keep track of what you were doing right before you developed the asthma symptoms. Take an allergy test and stay away from any external trigger or allergy that causes you to have an attack. Avoid well-known irritants, like cigarette smoke, perfumes and gasoline that can lead to an asthma attack. Be careful that you do not catch a cold as the asthma symptoms worsen with a cold.

And finally, however difficult it might be, avoid stressful conditions. Muscle tension and shallow breathing encourage asthma attacks and so you need to practice relaxation techniques. Yoga can help you learn how to relax. You must master the art of breathing from your diaphragm.

Asthma Treatment And Asthma Control

Asthma is largely incurable. So, asthma control is most important. By avoiding factors that can trigger an attack, you can manage to avoid most of the suffering. In the worst attacks, asthma treatment is necessary. Take expert medical advice for handling emergencies. High potency antibiotics are often administered in asthma treatment to clear up lung passage inflammations.

You have to rely heavily on prevention and an avoidance mechanism to offset serious asthma attacks and asthma control as there is no permanent asthma treatment.

Asthma might not be curable but with proper treatment and precautions you can avoid the most severe asthma symptoms.