Is There a Cure for Asthma? | Asthma Treatment & Asthma Remedies

Yup, you heard it right. I know how it feels to hear wheezes when you breathe or how you gasp for air or how embarrassing having an attack is. It is hard and annoying at the same time.

I've been diagnosed with moderate-persistent type. That means I get asthma attacks everyday, and it can cripple my activities. Missed a lot of school days, and work days because of asthma. Well, I used to. I barely get attacks now and I will share my secret here.

I am also very religious with frequent check-ups, and I ask A LOT of questions to my doctors. I will share the facts I gathered from my researches here.

Asthma, as defined by World Health Organization, is a chronic disease characterized by recurrent attacks of breathlessness and wheezing, which vary in severity and frequency from person to person. Symptoms may occur several times in a day or week in affected individuals, and for some people become worse during physical activity or at night.

Asthma affects 300 million people, and in 2005 alone, 255,000 people have died because of asthma.

If you have difficulty in breathing, and you (and others) hear whistling sounds each breath, you probably are experiencing an asthma attack.

During an asthma attack, the air passages becomes swollen, producing more mucus and contractions, thus reducing the flow of air into and out of the lungs and creating that whistling sound.

An asthma attack can be triggered my one or more of the following, and can vary from one person to another:

* indoor allergens, like house dust mites in bedding, carpets and stuffed furniture, pollution and pet dander
* outdoor allergens, such as pollens and molds, fine sand or soil
* cigarette and tobacco smoke
* steam some food being cooked
* chemical irritants in the workplace
* air pollution
* weather, like rain or cold air
* strong emotional stress like extreme anger or fear
* physical activity
* specific food, like eggs, chicken or fish
* some medication, like aspirin or those that are used to treat high blood pressure

This is no rocket science, actually. All you have to do is identify your asthma triggers, and avoid them. Do you get asthma attacks when you are exposed to cat hair? Then don't pet your best friend's kitty. Do you hyperventilate when exposed to dust? Then clean your room regularly.

If you don't know what your trigger is, I recommend keeping a notepad. Each and every time you recover from an attack, write down your your most recent activities, and see if you can correlate it to the asthma triggers stated above. This will help you identify your triggers. For me, it is dust, smoke, and cat hairs.

Don't ever forget this one. Medication is available for asthmatics to greatly decrease the occurrences asthma attacks. These are anti-inflammatory drugs. They come in different forms, such as nebules and nebulizers, inhalers, tablets and pills.

I always bring inhalers everywhere I go, and I have a nebulizer in my room, too! What medicine is for you? Consult your doctor. :)

No, really, you should consult your doctor. Asthma medicines are prescription drugs because each kind of med is tailored to a specific individual. Keep asking questions to your doc while you're at it. Do not worry about being annoying. You are paying him to talk!

OK, so you don't know how to use that thingamajig properly? The next videos will show you how to use three most common asthma control devices: the Inhaler, Nebulizer and the Diskus.

It is not completely avoidable. As no control is fool-proof, you still need to be ready if instances of an asthma attack happens. What to do during an asthma attack?

1. Relax. Sit down, don't lie down.
2. Take your reliever medicine. This is not the medicine used for prevention. Preventive medicines are useless during attacks.
3. Control your breathing. Inhale in really slow repetitions, through your nose, pause, wait until you are wanting to breathe out, then breathe out though your mouth. Repeat until the attack subsides.

Reliever medicines for asthma treatment are different from the preventive ones. Typically, a good asthma control program lets you hold two medicines, one for prevention, and one for relief.

Again, ask your doctor what medicines you should use! Asthma treatment meds need prescription to buy, because medicine type, doses, strength and frequency of intake varies from person to person.

OK, so what do you do when you get an attack, and you don't have your reliever medicines? There are home remedies that can help, but SHOULD NEVER REPLACE DRUGS:

* Very strong coffee - Caffeine is said to dilate the air passages, so you can breathe freely
* Steam - Enter a sauna room or whip up a steam on the stove or on a compressor and inhale the steam by breathing slowly and deeply. Steam is said to also help relax your air passages.
* Hot Shower - Same as above.
* Breathing Exercises - Yup, this helps! I tried this one. Consciously stop your hyperventilation, then inhale very deeply in your nose, pause, then exhale though your mouth. Repeat.

* World Health Organization for the facts.
* National Jewish for the amazing how-to videos. I am astonished on how fast they reply.
* The friendly advisers from the Asthma-Free Program of Glaxo-SmithKline, for the facts I've gathered and learned! Being a member is a privilege.