For many, spring is a time of renewal and joy, but for others, spring is the season of asthma and allergies. That’s why May is Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month, making it the perfect time of year to learn more about these common health conditions.
At A&U Family Medicine in Sugar Land, Texas, our experienced family medicine physician, Dr. Hammad Zaidi, manages asthma and allergies. Here, he shares five important strategies for preventing a severe asthma attack during this allergy season.
Asthma affects everyone differently, and no single treatment works for everyone. A good asthma treatment plan focuses on preventing attacks and having a plan for treating attacks when they happen.
The best way to prevent a severe asthma attack is to follow your plan. This means taking your medication as prescribed, which may include:
Asthma causes inflammation and swelling in the airway, making it hard to breathe. Anti-inflammatory medications reduce inflammation to improve breathing. You may only need this medication when you’re having symptoms, or you may take this medication regularly to prevent symptoms.
Bronchodilators, or inhalers, are medications that relax the airway muscles, making it easier for air to move in and out of the lungs. Dr. Zaidi prescribes bronchodilators to manage symptoms when they happen.
If you have severe asthma, you may need biologic therapy. This medication, given by injection, targets a protein in a cell to reduce swelling in the lungs.
Your asthma treatment plan may include a combination of bronchodilators and anti-inflammatories.
Anything that irritates the lungs may trigger asthma symptoms, leading to an attack. Common asthma triggers include:
It’s important to know your triggers so you can avoid them or be ready to manage symptoms when you’re exposed to them to reduce the risk of a severe asthma attack.
If you have allergies in addition to asthma, you want to manage those allergies to prevent an asthma attack because that’s a common trigger. Avoiding your allergen is ideal but not always possible. You may need to take allergy medication or antihistamines preventively to reduce the risk of an asthma attack.
If you notice your asthma symptoms worsen during certain times of the year, but you never connected your symptoms to allergies, schedule an appointment to get tested for allergies.
Treating allergies early may prevent your asthma from getting worse.
Asthma is a chronic condition and you may not always have problems. But it’s important to recognize symptoms when they start so you can take action right away. If you’re short of breath, coughing, or wheezing, you might be experiencing the early symptoms of an attack.
You can check your asthma at home using a peak flow meter, a portable device that measures how well you push air out of your lungs. Use your results from the peak flow meter to determine whether you need quick-relief medication or a visit to the emergency room.
Asthma can change over time. Dr. Zaidi schedules regular visits so he can monitor your lung condition and adjust your plan accordingly for best control.
He manages both asthma and allergies and can develop a treatment plan that helps you stay in control of your breathing. If allergies are an asthma trigger for you, he may suggest immunotherapy, a medical treatment that makes your immune system less sensitive to allergens, reducing symptoms.
Immunotherapy may even halt the progression of your asthma.
If you want to learn more about asthma and strategies for preventing a severe attack, call A&U Family Medicine today or book an appointment online.
