Celebrities Have Asthma Too

Asthma need not be a life limiting condition, neither in terms of longevity nor in terms of involvement. In the past, it was often the case that asthmatic children were labelled ‘sickly’ and didn’t participate in exercise. Now, however, exercise is thought to be one of the best ways of controlling asthma long-term. Many celebrities have been very open about their asthma, and others are coming forward all the time to help de-mystify it and to help others.

The fact that Theodore Roosevelt had asthma didn’t stop him becoming president of the USA. It is said that he recovered from asthma through exercise. John F Kennedy was also an asthma sufferer, with his worst trigger being animals.

There have been a number of famous writers, musicians and dancers who have had asthma. Leonard Bernstein was a sufferer and his asthma was so bad that sometimes people could hear him wheezing as he was conducting. Joseph Pulitzer was another sufferer, as was the dancer Robert Joffrey who kept his asthma at bay with a combination of medications, acupuncture and herbs.

There is no lack of famous sports people who have coped with asthma and even improved their condition through their sport. The swimmer Amy Van Dyken was the first American female to win 4 gold medals in a single Olympic games. She took up the sport on the advice of doctors who suggested she try swimming as a way to control her asthma attacks. Tom Dolan, another American swimmer, also suffers from asthma and had problems competing due to restrictions on medications he could use whilst swimming competitively. He went on to win gold medals in two Olympic games.

Whilst swimming is one of the best forms of exercise for asthmatics, other athletes have also reached the top of their sport despite having to cope with asthma. Jackie Joyner-Kersee, who was a top heptathlete and long-jumper, and Paula Radcliffe, a British marathon runner, both have asthma.

Team sports are good for asthmatics because the exercise isn’t always constant. The NFL player Jerome Bettis, Rugby player Austin Healey and a number of soccer players also have asthma. Paul Scholes from Manchester United and Frank Lampard from Chelsea Football Club are two of the most prominent asthmatics in the sport but many people were surprised recently to see pictures of David Beckham using an inhaler. He has since said that he was happy to know that the knowledge he had asthma was helping to inspire other people with the condition to take up a sport.

The success of these people shows that asthma doesn’t have to limit your achievements if you have the condition.

Copyright 2009

Top 10 Asthma Triggers

Asthma is an allergic condition and is made worse by certain triggers. Everyone’s triggers may be different but it is important to try and recognize and avoid your triggers to prevent inflammation of the airways as much as possible.

1. Secondhand Smoke

Secondhand smoke is sometimes called environmental smoke. It is one of the most common asthma triggers. If you are asthmatic you should not be smoking and should avoid other people’s smoke as far as possible. Make your home and car smoke-free zones and ask other people to smoke outside.

2. Dust Mites

These are another common trigger and are difficult to eliminate completely. Mite resistant bedding is available, or you can use special mattress and pillow covers. Clean sofas and chairs regularly, preferably with an anti allergen vacuum cleaner.

3. Pets

Pets can cause serious allergic reactions, including asthma attacks. If your family pet is a trigger for your asthma or the asthma of someone else in your house, the best thing to do is to find it another home. That’s a tough thing to do, though so if you can’t, you need to make sure that cleaning is done frequently and that your pet is washed at least once a week.

4. Mold

Mold is very common as an asthma trigger. There are many products that can help eliminate mold. Make sure water isn’t coming into your property and if you have damp due to condensation or humidity then consider using a dehumidifier to reduce it and prevent mold forming.

5. Pest Infestations

Pests such as cockroaches and their droppings can cause problems for asthma sufferers. Pests need food and water to survive so if you remove their source of nutrition they will be less likely to come back.

6. The Weather

Breathing cold air is a major asthma trigger. Putting a scarf over your mouth might help a little. Some studies have indicated that asthma attacks increase prior to electrical storms too.

7. Exercise

Sometimes exercise can trigger asthma attacks. Using an inhaler before you exercise, and building up your fitness levels can help prevent this.

8. Food Allergies

Some foods can trigger asthma attacks. Dairy, seafood and nuts are the most common culprits.

9. Pollen

Grass and other pollens that trigger hay fever can equally start asthma attacks. If you think it is a trigger for your asthma then you may need extra medication during the times when the pollen is most prominent.

10. Stress

Emotions can cause asthma attacks, even something as simple as laughing can set one off. Stress can also make asthma worse so it is a good idea to practise relaxation exercises.

Copyright 2009

Asthma And Exercise

Exercise greatly improves asthma over a period of time. Obviously we aren’t talking running a marathon here – not to start with, anyway – but if your asthma is properly managed then you should be able to participate in moderate exercise without any problems.

The ideal exercise for an asthma sufferer is 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times a week. Moderate exercise should increase your heart rate and make you slightly breathless, but not wheezy. Some people find that exercise brings on an asthma attack and you can use your reliever inhaler before you start exercising which may help. If the problem gets worse, make an appointment to see your doctor or healthcare team for a review of your treatment.

If you aren’t used to exercise you will need to start gradually – don’t try and do too much too soon. ALWAYS make sure you have your reliever inhaler with you, just in case, and it is also a good idea not to exercise alone and to make sure anyone with you knows you have asthma.

So which are the best kinds of exercise if you have asthma? Well the first one is swimming. This is great as you can go at your own pace and do as little or as much as you feel comfortable with. You can set your own targets easily and measure your progress. Also, the air in a swimming pool is humid so may be less likely to set off an asthma attack. Some people are sensitive to the chemicals in the pool though, so be aware of that and if the chemicals trigger your asthma make sure you use your inhaler before you start.

A second recommended form of exercise if you have asthma is yoga. This is not an aerobic exercise but it is still possible to work up quite a sweat and increase your heart rate. Classes are available in most areas for all levels. A major advantage of yoga is that it often focuses on the breathing, and breathing exercises are great for asthma sufferers.

Walking is another wonderful form of exercise and again, you can take it at your own pace and build up your fitness gradually. Team sports can also be good for asthma sufferers as the activity is in short spurts with rests in between. It is difficult to build up to participating in a team game though so it might be better to build up your fitness another way first.

Any form of exercise will benefit an asthma sufferer; just remember not to push yourself too hard and to take sensible precautions when exercising.

Copyright 2009

Can Diet Help My Asthma?

Asthma is an allergic condition. That means that certain things are triggers and set off the reaction, in this case inflammation of the airways, that leads to the symptoms – such as wheezing, coughing etc. Many allergic conditions are improved by diets, so is this the case with asthma?

The first point to make is that asthma is made worse by obesity. If you are seriously overweight then you should look at your diet carefully anyway as it is likely to be a factor in your asthma as well as affecting other areas of your health.

Secondly, there may be some foodstuffs which are triggers for your asthma. If you have a known food allergy then obviously you should avoid it. Royal Jelly products are also known as a possible asthma trigger so it may be a good idea to avoid them too.

There are a number of foods which are thought to make asthma symptoms worse. These include milk, eggs, fish and seafood, nuts, yeast products and some preservatives and food colorings. Try cutting these out one at a time and logging the results in an asthma diary.

Fourthly, there was some research done in the Netherlands which found that people who ate the highest quantities of fresh vegetables and fruit had the healthiest lung function. Vitamins C and E were very important here. Fresh produce seems to be far more effective than vitamin supplements although these can also be of some benefit. It is also important to keep your immune system as high as possible if you suffer from asthma. Vitamin C and Zinc are important for this but a well balanced diet, including all the vitamins and minerals you need, will make your system much stronger and more able to fight off colds and ‘flu which are major triggers of asthma attacks.

There has also been research done in the US that found that a reduced salt intake helped to increase lung function and reduce symptoms of asthma, and new research is constantly being carried out on links between diet and asthma.

Cutting out processed foods, unhealthy snacks and reducing your intake of dairy products can often reduce the severity and frequency of asthma attacks. It doesn’t need to be done overnight, if you start with small changes they are easier to achieve and you are more likely to reach any long-term diet change goals.

Copyright 2009

Managing Asthma – The Steps

Once asthma has been diagnosed, there are several steps to managing it. Well managed asthma should cause no problems, although getting the right control regime may take a while.

Many people develop asthma as a child and live with it throughout their lives. Some have asthma as children but then grow out of it, and some people develop it later in life. There are theories that allergic conditions such as asthma and hay fever go in seven year cycles and will start to improve after seven years. That hasn’t been borne out in research so may be more myth than fact. It is the case, though that some asthma improves with very little medical intervention.

Most people control their asthma by working out what triggers it and then avoiding those triggers. Obviously that isn’t always possible, but it should be tried as a first step. Alongside this many people are prescribed reliever medications. These are given to people with mild or occasional asthma. They are known as short acting beta2-agonists and are often in inhaler form. These work by preventing the muscles around the air tubes from narrowing, they reduce any swelling and also the amount of phlegm produced. In this way the symptoms of wheezing and coughing are reduced.

If you need to use a short acting beta2-agonist more than a couple of times a week, you may be given the next step medicine, which is known as a preventer. This is an inhaler containing corticosteroids. They should be taken twice a day, and the other reliever inhaler used when symptoms get worse. Regular use of corticosteroids dramatically reduces the incidence of asthma attacks. Be aware that smoking reduces the effect of the preventer medications.

The third step of treatment, if your asthma is not kept under control, is an add-on preventer therapy. Usually this is another inhaler known as a long acting beta2-antagonist.

If your asthma is still poorly controlled then the dosages of the medicines may be increased. There are also other drugs which can be prescribed such as slow release beta2-agonist tablets, which are used to control night-time attacks; Leukotriene receptor antagonists which are tablets that work by preventing inflammation, and Theophyllines which can have side effects but act to make the airways wider by relaxing muscles.

As a fifth step, oral steroids may be prescribed but the incidence of this being required is low. There are risks associated with oral steroids so doctors prefer to exhaust other options first.

Asthma is common and treatable so if you find yourself diagnosed with it, don’t panic. Your doctor and healthcare team will be able to find a therapy solution that works for you.

Copyright 2009

What is Asthma ?

Asthma is a common lung disease. It often runs in families and statistically affects more women than men, but the number of men suffering from asthma is increasing year on year. It is caused when the small tubes in the airways of the lungs, known as the bronchi, become inflamed and swollen. The bronchi on people with asthma are more easily irritated by triggers than bronchi on people without the illness. The triggers could be cold air, allergies, smoking or colds and chest infections.

When the bronchi become irritated and become inflamed, the production of mucus in the tubes also increases. This makes breathing difficult and can lead to coughing, a tightness in the chest area and the characteristic asthmatic wheezing and shortness of breath. A severe asthma attack is prolonged, can often take up to 48 hours to develop and may require hospital treatment. The symptoms will worsen and the breath output will decrease, the pulse rate will increase, the wheezing will get worse and the patient may become restless. In addition, the lips and nails may become a little blue colored and talking may become harder.

Asthma can usually be managed by a combination of medications and lifestyle changes, but some complications can arise from it. It is recommended that asthma patients receive a vaccination against influenza as other illnesses can make asthma worse. Pneumonia also has a higher incidence rate among asthma sufferers than non sufferers, and asthma can occasionally cause the collapse of part or all of a lung, lead to an unresponsive asthma attack or respiratory failure. All of these complications can be treated if hospital attention is sought quick enough. The risk of complications is greater in older people and very young children.

There is no single known cause of asthma. Genetic factors do seem to play some part as do diet and the environment in which people live. Smoking also increases the likelihood of any respiratory disease and can certainly make asthma worse. If someone has been exposed to smoke as a child (even second hand smoke) or if their mother smoked whilst pregnant then this also seems to increase their chances of having asthma. If a person has allergies or other allergic conditions such as eczema then they are also more likely to have asthma.

Whilst there is no known cause, the treatments available now are highly effective and provided asthma is managed properly sufferers can lead full, active lives without complications.

Copyright 2009