• Feed your baby at the breast alone for at least 4-6 months, especially if there is any family history of asthma, eczema or hay fever. This protects the susceptible baby from cows’ milk proteins and makes asthma less likely to occur in later life.
• If there is a history of allergy in the family it makes sense to take this one stage further and restrict the intake of eggs, milk, wheat and nuts during pregnancy. Recent research suggests that intra-uterine sensitization can occur in highly susceptible families so an excess of any food, drug or chemical is best avoided during pregnancy.
• Avoid cold air whenever possible. Keep away from smokers and don’t smoke yourself.
• Get a good air filter. The best models are high-particulate smoker’s air filters and can relieve asthmatic symptoms in 10-30 minutes. A summer camp in West Virginia installed air filters in the sleeping accommodation and found that the number of asthmatic episodes among the children was significantly reduced.
• Drink plenty of fluids to keep chest mucus thin and coughable. Drink 1/2-l cup of fluid every waking hour. Drink only warm (i.e. not cold) fluids or you could actually trigger an attack. Warm drinks dilate the airways and can be used as a way of preventing an attack as you feel one coming on.
• Clear your house of the dust mite if this is what troubles you. Scrupulous cleaning of a child’s room helps. Vacuum the mattress thoroughly and enclose it in an impervious plastic box-type cover. Blankets made from synthetic fibres, foam pillows and vinyl floor coverings are best. Frequent, damp dusting and vacuuming will keep the mite population to a minimum. Certain children obtain relief from a series of desensitizing injections to the house-dust mite.
• You may have to get rid of your pet if it is causing really troublesome asthmatic attacks but this is often not necessary with scrupulous domestic hygiene. Keep all animals out of the bedrooms.
• Avoid foods you know bring on your asthma. Similarly, avoid all drugs containing aspirin if they affect you adversely.
• If you feel an attack coming on-don’t panic. Practice the following deep breathing exercise to abort the attack.
1. Think of your stomach and chest as two containers of air. Breathe slowly through your nose and fill first the bottom container. Continue until your abdomen bulges out.
2. Exhale through your mouth. The abdomen should now feel empty and your tummy should feel flat.
3. Repeat this inhaling and exhaling gently and slowly twelve times. The average asthmatic breathes at only 60 or 70 per cent of his or her total capacity, and during an attack this can fall to 20 per cent. By learning to breathe deeply an asthmatic can increase the amount of oxygen he or she takes in and can reduce the severity of an attack or abort it altogether.
• Reduce weight. Even being only a little overweight can be a problem for an asthmatic because carrying too much fat, especially around the diaphragm, is like wearing a tight garment-it restricts breathing.
• Take vitamin C. In one study volunteers who usually suffered from exercise-induced asthma were given 500 mg vitamin Ñ before an exercise test. Their tolerance to exercise was doubled. In another study 1 g vitamin Ñ a day seemed to protect against having asthmatic attacks. Those who took it had 75 per cent fewer attacks than those receiving a placebo. When they stopped the vitamin Ñ they once more suffered from their attacks.
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Tags: General health