Asthma

Asthma occurs when the main air passages of your lungs, the bronchial tubes, become inflamed. The muscles of the bronchial walls tighten, and cells in the lungs produce extra mucus further narrowing your airways. This can cause minor wheezing to severe difficulty in breathing. In some cases, your breathing may be so labored that an asthma attack becomes life-threatening.
Asthma is a chronic but treatable condition. You can manage your condition much like someone manages diabetes or heart disease. You and your doctor can work together to control asthma, reduce the severity and frequency of attacks and help maintain a normal, active life.

Signs and symptoms
Asthma signs and symptoms can range from mild to severe. You may have only occasional asthma episodes with mild, short-lived symptoms such as wheezing. In between episodes you may feel normal and have no difficulty breathing. Some people with asthma have chronic coughing and wheezing punctuated by severe asthma attacks.
Most asthma attacks are preceded by warning signs. Recognizing these warning signs and treating symptoms early can help prevent attacks or keep them from becoming worse.

Warning signs and symptoms of asthma in adults may include:

Increased shortness of breath or wheezing
Disturbed sleep caused by shortness of breath, coughing or wheezing
Chest tightness or pain
Increased need to use bronchodilators – medications that open up airways by relaxing the surrounding muscles
A fall in peak flow rates as measured by a peak flow meter, a simple and inexpensive device that allows you to monitor your own lung function
Children often have an audible whistling or wheezing sound when exhaling and frequent coughing spasms.

Health Tip #2. Breathing

We have been given the breath of life. We are not always aware of how best to use it. The best way to use it is consciously, with conscience. Here is a tip you can use to begin to slow your life down, ground your senses, and establish grounding and stability and calmness in your life.

1. Breath in slowly, and release slowly, three times.

2. Begin to count your heartbeats.

3. Breath in for 4 heartbeats, then breathe out for 4 heartbeats. If you are anxious, nervious, upset, you may not be able to do this right away, but just let yourself slow down until breathing in and out for 4 heartbeats comes easily and naturally.

4. Anytime you feel yourself under stress, instead of reacting or becoming emotional, you can sit down and do this exercise. After you have made this a habit in your life, you will find your life becomes less of a circle of distress, and you can begin to make better sense of your life.

Feel free to contact Dr. Edward Norman further regarding what you can do next. We are always just a phone call away!