If you have had asthma for a while, you might be very familiar with the fact that you are more prone to asthma attacks during the colder months. However, you might not know just what you can do to prevent so many attacks during the winter. The best thing for you to do is to check out some of the following tips for preventing as many attacks as possible.
Limit How Much Cold Air You Inhale
This might sound like a very difficult thing to accomplish, especially when you have to be outside in the cold. After all, it is not as though you are going to stop breathing while you are out there. However, you can inhale through your nose instead of your mouth. This is ideal because the air is warmed up some before it is passed into the lungs when it is inhaled through the nose. You can also wrap a scarf around the lower half of your face, including your nose, or even wear a ski mask when you are working outside for long hours. The idea is to give that cold air a filter to go through before it enters your body, which gives it the chance to warm up a little.
Stay Clear Of The Fireplace
Many people like to sit around the fireplace during the colder winter months. However, smoke from the fireplace is just as irritating to the lungs as cigarette smoke is. Therefore, if you want to make sure that you are reducing the number of asthma attacks you suffer from during the winter, you want to enjoy that fireplace from a far distance. Better yet, you might want to avoid lighting it at all.
Keep The Furnace Filter Clean
Whether your furnace calls for a disposable filter or it has one that you can clean, dry, and put back in, the goal is to make sure that the filter in the furnace is always clean. Start by having the filter checked and then cleaned or replaced before the start of the heating season. Then, you will want to make sure that you are periodically checking the filter throughout the colder months. By keeping the filter clean, you are less likely to have a lot of debris pushed into your home from the furnace. Since the circulation of dust and microscopic debris can cause asthma attacks, you will find that keeping the filters clean will do wonders for your health.
Warm Up Before Working Out Outside
Sure, people with asthma can still jog outside. However, you might want to make sure that you are warming up your body before you head outside. By jogging inside for a few minutes, you will decrease your chances of having the ice cold air cause you to have a asthma attack.
As you can see, there are a lot of things you can do to help decrease your odds of an asthma attack. Just make sure that you are keeping those tips in mind and putting them to good use. You can get more tips from a center like the Allergy & Asthma Clinic.
Share