Managing Asthma Can Greatly Improve Your Quality of Life

Signs and Symptoms

If you are unsure whether you have asthma, common symptoms include breathing problems such as:

• Difficulty breathing

• Inability to take deep breaths
• Quick breaths
• Wheezing
• Chest tightness
• Throat irritation
• Feeling of weakness or exhaustion
• Frequent coughing, especially at night

You may only suffer from a few symptoms in varying severity. Attacks can last anywhere from a few minutes to several hours or days.

Common Asthma Triggers

Preventing symptoms from occurring is the best way to avoid asthma attacks. To do this, you need to know what conditions trigger your asthma to better understand what affects you personally so you can avoid them in the future. Some asthma sufferers are affected by indoor and outdoor allergens, while others are affected by stress, foods, and exercise.

Your asthma may be caused by various triggers, such as:

• Tree pollen and other outdoor allergens
• Pet dander, dust, and other indoor allergens
• Smoke and strong odors
• Cold, sinus infection, and the flu
• Medications
• Food additives
• Exercise
• Stress
• Cold air
• Extreme changes in weather

Preventing symptoms from occurring is the best way to avoid asthma attacks.

How to manage Asthma

With our experience in diagnosing the root of breathing problems, we can help patients manage short-term flare-ups with inhalers. Long-term management will typically involve corticosteroids. During your consultation, one of our doctors will review your personal and family medical history, while also performing a detailed physical exam to help diagnose the severity of your asthma and create a personalized treatment plan. We will also perform an allergy test to help you better understand what conditions cause your flare-ups in order to prevent and control an asthma attack from happening. Knowing this information can greatly improve your livelihood, help you enjoy daily activities, reduce the amount of missed work or school, and lower your healthcare costs.

Other helpful tips for managing asthma include:

• Diligently taking your asthma medication as prescribed
• Being aware of triggers and allergies so you can avoid certain situations
• Minimizing your stress 

• Exercising appropriately

The expertise of our doctors combined with their commitment to providing personalized guidance, allows us to help patients effectively manage their asthma symptoms.

Find Long-term Solutions

You may be suffering from undiagnosed asthma if you are struggling from shortness of breath and a chronic cough. To schedule your consultation, contact us online or call (410) 356-2626. One of our trusted doctors can meet with you to determine the best route of treatment.