My long battle with asthma

At 45 years of age, this will make it 25 years since I was diagnosed with asthma. Although I am currently not on any medications, my frequent reliance on inhalers is a problem. Kindly advise me

Bello (by SMS)

There are various ways a person with asthma can self-manage their condition and improve their quality of life. These include identifying asthma triggers and making an action plan for asthmatic attacks. Generally, people can manage symptoms of asthma by using medication and avoiding triggers.

Asthma triggers are substances or situations that can cause a person to experience asthma symptoms. Each person with asthma has their own triggers such as irritants, allergens among others. Irritants are things that irritate a person’s airways. Common ones include: smoke, air pollution, extremely hot or cold weather and strong odors. Allergens on the other hand are substances that can cause allergic reactions.

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Common allergens include:animals with feathers or fur, including rodents, dust and dust mites, mold, pollen and cockroaches. Other possible asthma triggers can include: exercise, respiratory infections, stress and strong emotions that cause a change in breathing pattern.

If a person can identify what causes their asthma symptoms, they can try to avoid these triggers. There are different medications a healthcare professional can prescribe to treat asthma. People can inhale these or take them as pills. As the name suggests, quick-relief medications work fast to treat the symptoms of an asthma attack. Most people with asthma will receive a quick-relief asthma inhaler. The medications in them will depend on a person’s condition.