Asthma in Adults

By the time she was 18 months old, my friend, Sarah, was constantly in and out of the hospital. Her mother recalls her turning blue because she was unable to breathe and was always being put on oxygen.

All of her life, Sarah has lived with asthma. When I asked her if her asthma has gotten better as she has gotten older, she said it hasn’t gotten better but it is definitely under control. Over the years, Sarah has figured out the perfect regiment for her: two puffs of her inhaler in the morning and two at night, and she uses her rescue inhaler before working out and when she is sick to minimize flare-ups.

According to the American Lung Association an estimated 25.9 million Americans had asthma in 2011. Here are some tips to help you keep your asthma under control:

Create an Asthma Management Plan with your doctor to help treat early asthma symptoms.
Keep track of your asthma symptoms in a journal during the daytime, nighttime, and at different activity levels.
Make sure your medication is the right medication for you. Effective medication will allow you to breathe better and do the things you want to do. You will also have fewer asthma symptoms if your medication is right for you.
Identify what triggers your asthma and try to minimize exposure to these triggers.
Stay active and maintain a healthy diet!

Do you remember how you were diagnosed with asthma? How do you keep your asthma under control? Please share your story!

Jaime Venditti, State Coordinator, New York Health Works

Resources:

http://www.lung.org/lung-disease/asthma/resources/facts-and-figures/asthma-in-adults.html

http://www.lung.org/lung-disease/asthma/taking-control-of-asthma/