“Asthma means twitchy airways,” says Peter creucos. M.D., an allergist and co-director of Johns Hopkins Center for Asthma and Allergic Disease in Baltimore, Maryland. “Your bronchial airways suddenly contract. you feel a tightness in your chest. you become short of breath, and you cough and wheeze.” “In the under-40 age group, probably 90 percent of asthma is triggered by an allergy,” says William Ziering, M.D., a Fresno, California., allergist. Tree, weed, and grass pollens, animal dander, dust mites, and mold are the biggest allergic triggers for asthma.To find out how to control these common allergens, “After age 40, it’s about 50 percent. The other 50 percent is triggered by some form of lung disorder such as emphysema.”
The Doctors Book of Home Remedies
But no matter what the cause, asthma needn’t be a life sentence.You can get your chest problems under control. “Asthma is a reversible disease,” says Dr. Ziering. And you don’t have to go to the Sahara desert looking for a way to reverse your asthma; there’s plenty you can do right at home.
Stay out of smoke-filled rooms.
People with asthma shouldn’t smoke, but a recent study done in Canada found that people around asthmatics shouldn’t smoke either. “This is particularly important in the winter months, when houses are closed up,” says Brenda Morrison, Ph.D., a researcher and associate professor at the University of British Columbia, who conducted a study on the effects of cigarette smoking on asthma. “If someone in the house smokes, it leads to a worsening of asthma, especially in children.”
Don’t light a fire.
Throwing another log on the fire, or in the wood stove, will also fuel asthma. “Wood stoves and fireplaces can cause significant trouble for people with asthma,” says John Carlson, MD., an allergist from Virginia Beach, Virginia. If you must make a fire, be sure the wood stove and chimney are airtight in order to reduce the amount of particulates released in to your room - and lungs. Also, make sure the room is well ventilated and the fireplace draws well.
Take an antacid at bedtime
Going to sleep on a full stomach might also feed your asthma. “Asthma can be caused by stomach reflux,” a condition in which acid backs up into your esophagus from your stomach. “Your stomach contents may leak out a little and drip down into your airway while you’re lying down,” says Dr. Creticos. “Prop your bed up and elevate the pillow to prevent the dripping, and take an antacid before bedtime to cut down on your stomach’s acidity.”
Stay out of the deep freeze.
You open the front door. step outside, and get hit with a blast of arctic air. What can you do? “Stay indoors when it’s cold outside,” says allergist Sidney Friedlaender, M.D., who is clinical professor of medicine at the University of Florida College of Medicine.
Buy a large scarf.
If staying indoors isn’t possible, however, make sure you keep your mouth and nose covered when going outdoors. “Cold air can trigger asthma, but when you have a scarf or mask covering your mouth and nose, you end up breathing in warm, humid air,” says
Don’t go to Arizona for relief.
“A warm, dry climate will help you, but finding the perfect climate isn’t as easy as it used to be. The arid area of Arizona was once a haven for asthmatics. but that’s not necessarily so anymore,” says Dr. Friedlaender. The environment there has changed over the years since urbanization and irrigation. “Now you have things introduced into the air that weren’t there 25 years ago. so people who have asthma frequently have as much trouble there, and sometimes even more.”