Asthma

BACK TO INDEX

ASTHMA

Asthma as feeling like trying to breathe through a straw. The description fits perfectly, because during an attack, airways in the lungs squeeze shut, making it difficult to draw in air. If you're having attacks more easily than in the past, if your attacks seem more severe than usual of if you're waking up at night with attacks more than twice a week, it means that your asthma is no longer under control.

Day-to-Day control measures

Max out on magnesium

This essential mineral helps relax the smooth muscles that line airways. People who were getting the most magnesium from foods were the least likely to have wheezing and supersensitive airways.

Consider antioxidant protection

Vitamins C and E, the trace mineral selenium and beta-carotene, a pigment found in orange and dark green leafy vegetables, all seem to offer some protection to sensiive lungs.

Relax with massage

People with asthma who got weekly 15-minute upper body massages reported drops in chest tightness, wheezing, pain and faique. Massage may make you more aware of the stress in your life, and awareness is, for most people the first step toward reducing stress. Stress often makes asthma symtoms worse.

Breathe better with yoga

Try exhailing for twice as long as you inhale. This is a yoga breathing technique, and in one experiment, it helped reduce the number of attacks in people with asthma.

Turn off the fireplace

As cozy as fireplaces and woodstoves may be, they spew pollutants into indoor air. If you're having trouble controlling your asthma, you're better off not using either of these in your house.

Cover up to avoid cold

Sucking in cold, dry air can set off twitchy lungs. So wrap a scarf around your mouth and nose to help warm the air before you inhale.