Recover Your Breath and Restore Control
Asthma affects millions of people, and although there are plenty of treatments to manage common daily symptoms, asthma attacks claim many lives each year. One major issue is the confusion surrounding what qualifies as an emergency, and what to do during an asthma attack: asthma sufferers are used to dealing with some respiratory discomfort, so when symptoms are on the rise, many people ignore the problem. That’s a dangerous decision.
Whether you’ve experienced a severe asthma attack or not, it’s important to know how to get the oxygen your body needs, and help you to avoid more serious complications.
Learn to Recognize the Emergency
It may seem obvious, but recognizing the severity of your asthma attack is an important step in getting things under control quickly and easily. Many asthmatics may figure they can ride out the discomfort, or are too shy to ask or demand help from those around them.
However, if you have any of the following symptoms, it’s time to take the episode seriously:
- You’re too out of breath to finish a sentence, eat, or walk
- Your inhaler isn’t helping
- The wheezing and tightness in your chest is getting worse
- Your breathing is speeding up and it’s difficult to control
- Your lips are beginning to turn blue
Sometimes a bit of breathlessness can make you very anxious, which will make your breathing worse and likely frighten you a fair bit. The most important thing to do is stay calm – the more anxious you get, the worse it will be for your airways.
Some slow, controlled breathing and a bit of comforting visualization can bring your respiration back to a reasonable range and distract your mind from negative thoughts. Rest assured that there are plenty of people who are able to help you get through the attack, and the ambulance is only a call away, if it should come to that.
