Properly managing your asthma and allergy symptoms is imperative. As we say good riddance to 2020, there are several things you can do to help reduce the symptoms you experience from asthma and allergies. These few simple tips will greatly reduce your symptoms and help to make your everyday life more enjoyable.
Allergy And Asthma Reduction Tips
Here are several things you can do to reduce your asthma and allergy symptoms greatly.
- Exercise. Keeping an active lifestyle is always encouraged, even if you suffer from allergies and asthma. There are several things you can do to prevent flares while exercising including avoiding exercising in cold weather outdoors as the cold dry air can exacerbate asthma symptoms in some people. If you suffer from seasonal allergies you should avoid exercising outdoors when the pollen count is high. Since gyms are not the best place to be with rising rates of COVID-19, consider creating a small home gym at home. All you need is a yoga mat, some free weights, and resistance bands to start. There are several affordable exercise apps that include experienced trainers to help guide you through various workouts including yoga, meditation, cardio, weight training, and many more. If you’re a novice start slow and build your way up to more vigorous workouts. Make sure to appropriately warm up before beginning any exercise routine and take advantage of your rescue inhaler if you need it 10-15 minutes before a workout. If you continue to have problems exercising, contact your allergist to see what you can do to help lessen your asthma symptoms while exercising.
- Stay away from smoke. Anyone who has allergies and asthma will notice that exposure to cigarette smoke for firewood smoke can cause worsening symptoms. Talk to your allergist if you need help quitting smoking and distance yourself from friends or family that continue to smoke. It is important to remember that chronic exposure to secondhand smoke can be just as dangerous smoking yourself.
- Watching what you eat. If you have food allergies, you will want to make sure that you stay vigilant in 2021 by strictly avoiding your problems food(s). Make sure to diligently read food labels and/or stick with brands that you know are safe. Food allergy research continues to surge forward, so if you would like to talk about oral immunotherapy (OIT) treatments or other upcoming food allergy clinical trials make an appointment with your allergist to discuss these therapies in more detail.
- Reduce stress. Stress can cause negative health effects and can exacerbate symptoms for those with asthma or allergies. Spending too much time planning, problem-solving, daydreaming, or thinking negative or random thoughts can be draining. It can also make you more likely to experience stress, anxiety and symptoms of depression. Consider meditating (mindfulness) or using soothing music to help you relax. There are several apps that can assist you with this process including Calm and Headspace. Practicing mindfulness involves breathing methods, guided imagery, and other practices to relax the body and mind and help reduce stress helping you direct your attention away from this kind of thinking and engaging with the world around you.
- Go to the doctor. If you are suffering from allergies and asthma, you will want to make sure that you see an allergist. An allergist will help you have improvement from your symptoms. They can give you various medications to help and teach you how to avoid triggers.
If you are experiencing allergies of any kind or you have asthma, try doing some of the steps above to help lessen your symptoms. If you are having any trouble with allergies or asthma, please give Bernstein Allergy Clinic a call today. We will be more than happy to address all of your symptoms.
