How To Prevent Asthma Attacks

Do you or a family member have asthma? If so you understand how frightening it can be when you aren't able to breath. The simple act of breathing can be a difficult challenge as your airway passages go into spasm and fill with mucous. Asthma is an extremely common respiratory disorder. Asthma attacks can be triggered by a variety of factors depending on the affected individual. Regardless of whether you or a family member has asthma it's critical to know how to prevent asthma attacks.

Eliminate the triggers that provoke an asthma attack. The triggers vary per individual and can be either allergic or non-allergic. Preventing asthma attacks is the best and safest way to manage asthma.

Be meticulous about dust and dander in your home, particularly in the sleeping area. Keep house pets out of the bedroom. Consider room or house filtration systems to reduce allergens.

Keep interior humidity above 30 percent but below 40 percent to control both dryness and household mold and mite levels.

Aggressively manage your allergy symptoms to prevent asthma attacks. If you're not having sinus allergy symptoms it's more likely that your breathing will be stable as well.

Drink a cup of coffee every day to prevent asthma attacks. The caffeine in coffee has similar medicinal properties as the anti-asthma medication theophylline.

Try adding spicy foods which contain capsaicin to your diet. The most common example are chili peppers. Capsaicin seems to have both anti-inflammatory and mucolytic properties that may help to prevent asthma attacks.

Be compliant with your preventive asthma medications. Inhaled corticosteroids and oral leukotriene inhibitors are highly effective when used to prevent asthma attacks.

Learn to use a peak flow meter every day to monitor your lung function. If your breathing results begin falling over a couple of days your doctor can often temporarily increase your asthma medications to prevent asthma attacks.

Avoid smokers at all costs. There are very few asthmatics whose breathing is not worsened by tobacco smoke.

Get your seasonal influenza vaccine to prevent asthma attacks. Consider receiving the pneumonia vaccine (Pneumovax) as well. In 2009 it's appropriate for you and your doctor to discuss whether or not you should also receive the H1N1 Influenza vaccine.

*  Avoiding asthma triggers can complicated until you determine what they are. It may require that you maintain a detailed asthma diary to help figure out what factors provoke your asthma attacks.