Asthma Relief - A Few Ways to Avoid an Attack
Few things can lay you low like an asthma attack.
If you suffer from asthma then probably the first thing you do when you feel an attack coming on is to reach for your inhaler.
But with the side effects of all drug based remedies becoming more apparent, many people are looking for alternative treatments and ways of avoiding an attack altogether.
This article will examine a few options you have for avoiding asthma attacks and introduce a simple exercise that can bring fast relief when an attack comes.
Your doctor will surely have told you about pollens, dust mites and cigarette smoke being likely causes of your asthma, so this article will not go further into that aspect.
We'll look instead at a couple of lesser known causes and what you can do to avoid them.
1.
If you're in a room with a wood fire then try and establish if the fire draws the air into it well and the room itself is well ventilated.
A wood stove is not so bad as long as it is airtight.
2.
Very cold weather can also sometimes set off an attack.
If you have to venture out in such conditions then make sure you are wearing a scarf wrapped around your neck and face, covering your nose and mouth, so the air you breathe in is warm and moist.
3.
Although it's usually thought of as helping asthmatics, sometimes your car's air conditioning can bring on asthma.
Avoid setting it to bring in outside air and cooling it.
4.
Sometimes certain kinds of food can set it off.
The principal culprits are milk, eggs, nuts, seafood, and especially table salt.
Try and establish if any of them have been to blame for an attack, so you know what to avoid.
Just being in the kitchen when the food is being prepared is often enough to trigger an attack.
And realise, too, that food additives can often have just as big an effect as the food itself.
5.
Finally on this point, and perhaps most importantly, be aware of how you breathe.
If you breathe through your nose, as you should, you will give yourself the best chance of avoiding an attack.
Themicroscopic hairs lining the inside of your nose and its cavities catch nearly all the millions of tiny particles that enter with each breath and start a process of rendering them harmless.
Finally, a deep breathing exercise to bring relief This is a powerful exercise that helps increase your resistance to many allergies and it is particularly potent against asthma.
It is very health giving and helps you regain your strength and energy after illness or an accident.
1.
Lie flat on your back on the floor with your knees bent slightly and your feet flat on the floor.
Take a deep breath through the nose and slowly reach upwards with both arms towards the ceiling.
Hold your breath and clench your fists, tensing all the muscles in your arms.
2.
Exhale slowly through the nose and slowly draw your fists down towards your chest.
Keep your arms tensed and your fists clenched throughout.
Your elbows will go out to your sides.
3.
When your fists touch your chest relax them, together with your arms.
You should by now have fully exhaled.
4.
Repeat several times, remembering always to inhale and exhale through your nose and making use of your diaphragm movements rather than consciously breathing in and out.
Emphasise the tension and tightness of your arm muscles when pulling them down towards your chest, as if pulling healing energy into your lungs.
Conversely, when you are reaching up your arms should be relaxed and you should stretch right up as far as you can without straining.
5.
Stop the exercise when you've done it a few times, but continue lying on the floor for a few minutes until you feel you're ready to rise.
Relax your arms at the side of your body palms up.
Breathe deeply through the nose and visualise healing energy being directed to where in your body it's required.
I hope that, by carrying out this exercise from time to time as you think best, and following the advice on how to avoid asthma attacks as far as possible, you can start to regain control of your life and feel less vulnerable.
If you suffer from asthma then probably the first thing you do when you feel an attack coming on is to reach for your inhaler.
But with the side effects of all drug based remedies becoming more apparent, many people are looking for alternative treatments and ways of avoiding an attack altogether.
This article will examine a few options you have for avoiding asthma attacks and introduce a simple exercise that can bring fast relief when an attack comes.
Your doctor will surely have told you about pollens, dust mites and cigarette smoke being likely causes of your asthma, so this article will not go further into that aspect.
We'll look instead at a couple of lesser known causes and what you can do to avoid them.
1.
If you're in a room with a wood fire then try and establish if the fire draws the air into it well and the room itself is well ventilated.
A wood stove is not so bad as long as it is airtight.
2.
Very cold weather can also sometimes set off an attack.
If you have to venture out in such conditions then make sure you are wearing a scarf wrapped around your neck and face, covering your nose and mouth, so the air you breathe in is warm and moist.
3.
Although it's usually thought of as helping asthmatics, sometimes your car's air conditioning can bring on asthma.
Avoid setting it to bring in outside air and cooling it.
4.
Sometimes certain kinds of food can set it off.
The principal culprits are milk, eggs, nuts, seafood, and especially table salt.
Try and establish if any of them have been to blame for an attack, so you know what to avoid.
Just being in the kitchen when the food is being prepared is often enough to trigger an attack.
And realise, too, that food additives can often have just as big an effect as the food itself.
5.
Finally on this point, and perhaps most importantly, be aware of how you breathe.
If you breathe through your nose, as you should, you will give yourself the best chance of avoiding an attack.
Themicroscopic hairs lining the inside of your nose and its cavities catch nearly all the millions of tiny particles that enter with each breath and start a process of rendering them harmless.
Finally, a deep breathing exercise to bring relief This is a powerful exercise that helps increase your resistance to many allergies and it is particularly potent against asthma.
It is very health giving and helps you regain your strength and energy after illness or an accident.
1.
Lie flat on your back on the floor with your knees bent slightly and your feet flat on the floor.
Take a deep breath through the nose and slowly reach upwards with both arms towards the ceiling.
Hold your breath and clench your fists, tensing all the muscles in your arms.
2.
Exhale slowly through the nose and slowly draw your fists down towards your chest.
Keep your arms tensed and your fists clenched throughout.
Your elbows will go out to your sides.
3.
When your fists touch your chest relax them, together with your arms.
You should by now have fully exhaled.
4.
Repeat several times, remembering always to inhale and exhale through your nose and making use of your diaphragm movements rather than consciously breathing in and out.
Emphasise the tension and tightness of your arm muscles when pulling them down towards your chest, as if pulling healing energy into your lungs.
Conversely, when you are reaching up your arms should be relaxed and you should stretch right up as far as you can without straining.
5.
Stop the exercise when you've done it a few times, but continue lying on the floor for a few minutes until you feel you're ready to rise.
Relax your arms at the side of your body palms up.
Breathe deeply through the nose and visualise healing energy being directed to where in your body it's required.
I hope that, by carrying out this exercise from time to time as you think best, and following the advice on how to avoid asthma attacks as far as possible, you can start to regain control of your life and feel less vulnerable.
