Tag Archives: Allergy Clinic

When Should You See a Doctor About Your Allergies?

allergies

Some allergy problems are mild, like hay fever and they do not really need medical attention. Sometimes, your allergies can be managed by over-the-counter medications and there are times when they can disrupt your daily life. Allergies can also be life-threatening and you might need to see an allergy doctor.

They can tell you what you are allergic to and what you need to avoid so that the triggers will not act up. If you want to find out more, you should read on.

If You are Unsure if You Have a Cold or Allergies

Colds and allergies – allergic rhinitis can be easily confusing because both of them have runny noses and sneezing. A doctor helps you determine if the symptoms are because of environmental allergens such as dust, pollen, dander, tobacco smoke, or mites. It could also be a cold or upper respiratory tract inflammation because of a virus. The treatment for colds and allergies are different, so knowing what you are experiencing is crucial in choosing what medicines you must take. If you take cold medicine when you are actually having allergies is ineffective and wastes your money.

If you have an itchy nose or eyes, red/watery eyes, or puffiness/swelling inside your throat, eyelids, or ears, you most likely have allergies.

Who Can Develop Allergies or Asthma?

Allergies and asthma affect anyone, no matter the age, race, gender, or socioeconomic factors. Even if it is true that allergies and asthma are seen in children more, they can come out for the first time anytime in your life. Allergy symptoms sometimes start during childhood, go away for many years, and appear again in your adult life.

Even if exact genetic factors have no further studies yet, asthma and allergies can also be caused by heredity. With people who are susceptible, factors like stress, hormones, perfume, or other irritants may also contribute to this.

When the Symptoms Interfere with Your Life

Aside from having a stuffy nose along with other symptoms, allergies can also other annoying issues like sinus infections, ear infections, and headaches, which make you feel miserable. However, when you have allergies, you will have a hard time working, sleeping, or enjoying the outdoors, and this makes you suffer. A doctor helps you in figuring out what you can be allergic to, and how symptoms are effectively managed. Therefore, you can start to live your life again. Medicines and over-the-counter prescriptions can be bought to treat allergy symptoms. When they do no work, you can go to an allergy expert to get a shot, and they will desensitize your allergens over time.

Serious Allergy Symptoms that Require you to See a doctor:

You have a hard time breathing and need to catch your breath
Most of the time, you wheeze or cough, especially during the night after exercising
You have shortness of breath or tightness in your chest frequently
You had a diagnosis of asthma, and have frequent attacks even if you are taking medication
You suffer from other health problems like thyroid disease, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, glaucoma, liver disease, enlarged prostate, kidney disease, or liver disease. In case you do, it might not be advisable for you to use over-the-counter drugs without talking to a doctor

You should go to an allergic clinic Manassas VA anytime if your symptoms are interfering with your life.

How to Camp with Food Allergies

eczema and skin allergies

Have you ever thought of how to go camping when you have allergies and food intolerance? They also come with digestive issues or maybe you have children with food allergies, and being in the woods far from other people can be terrifying.

Most of the time, traditional vacations normally is about eating meals in restaurants. You should compare that when you go camping, where you are able to prepare and cook the food you want.

Therefore, you should read this article until the end and you can ask your allergist about it.

Prepare for Medical Situations

The best thing is when you camp with food allergies, you need to make sure that you are safe. Regardless of it is you or someone is traveling safely must be your priority. If the allergy is severe, you need to have an Epi-Pen. Make sure that you have more than one. If you will be in a secluded location, it might be a good idea to bring a couple of extras to be sure.

You need to make sure that you know where the emergency medical services are and how you will reach them. If the service is limited, you need to research this beforehand and figure out the options you have. Being aware of the emergency services will give you peace of mind and be prepared for what can happen.

Keep the Allergens Away from the Tent

Regardless of where the camping site is, make sure to take your jacket and shoes off before you enter the tent. If you do not find this to be practical, set these items in one spot in the tent. If you take your family or pet along while camping, wipe them down before allowing them inside the tent. You need to minimize allergens in your environment that disturb your sleep. You need your rest.

Research the Surroundings Ahead of Time

The main thing to do is to gather as much information as you can about the camping site and where you will be. Do your research and go beyond the information the camping site is giving you. In addition, look for testimonials from their past campers and check what they say. If you know what the available resources are, you will know what you need and how you can cook food. Knowing that they have an electrical plug-in means people can bring a coffee pot, or tea kettle to cook oatmeal, and a fan.

Find out if there are any nearby grocery stores or supply stores for anything you might need.

Plan Snacks and Safe Meals

Families with food allergies know this very well. The truth is, it can be easier to do this during camping because everyone prepares meals. If it is only your family, this is going to be like eating at home. However, when traveling with others, inform them about allergic foods. Make sure to bring your own utensils, pots, grill, and pans if other people in your group will cook and share foods that are not on the list. It is difficult to thoroughly clean everything when you are camping.

Emergency Plan

This is sensible regardless of what your allergy status is. Research if they have an emergency room. Make sure that everyone you are with is aware of this information and knows when to administer allergy meds if necessary.

You can go to allergy clinic Manassas VA anytime if you need more tips.

Benefits of Allergy Shots

A lot of allergy sufferers feel they are different according to the time of year. The symptoms can be sometimes mild and more severe in other times because pollen counts change. The way you feel depends on which season, your allergen triggers, and the time you spend outdoors.

It should not be that way even if there are available effective treatments. If you are wondering whether you should go to an allergy specialist or not, this article is going to help you decide. The benefits are discussed here. Read now to know more.

Allergy Shots Reduces Your Sensitivity

When there are allergies, your immune system is overreacting, which treats the harmless substance and prevents it from becoming a threat. Elements can trigger reactions and they include:

Dust mites
Mold
Pollen
Pet dander
Insect venom

The allergy shots desensitize triggers when they introduce safe and small amounts to the body. Through time, you will become immune to them, and the effect is similar to a vaccine and your symptoms will decrease.

They Are Normally Very Safe

People are normally tolerant to allergy shots, and the side effects are very mild. Your doctor is going to talk about possible side effects that you should look out for. The shots are best for people who are over the age of 5. The common side effects are itching, swelling, or redness at the injection site.

If you have trouble breathing, experience dizziness, or throat swelling after getting the shot, you should let your allergy doctor know right away. They can be a sign of anaphylaxis, which is rare and serious. The doctor will ask you to wait a while after getting your injection for monitoring.

They Work for Different Allergies

Allergy shots are safe in children who are 5 years old and older, and for those who experience extreme symptoms all the time. It is recommended that you get allergy shots for different allergic conditions like:

Seasonal allergies, which includes hay fever and asthma
The indoor allergies include dust mites, cockroaches, and pet dander
Yellowjackets, insect stings, bees, or wasps

This is an effective therapy, and it also improves asthma symptoms, as well as asthma symptoms and inflammatory conditions such as eczema. However, it is not recommended that you should go for immunotherapy if you have food allergies. When you are pregnant, or if you have uncontrolled heart disease or asthma.

Most Insurances Will Cover You

Health insurances normally cover allergy shots, but this varies depending on the specific plan. Even if your insurance covers the shots, you might still be asked to copay each time you visit. For some, this cost might be cheaper compared to the total price of over-the-counter medications, other visits related to symptoms of hay fever.

If you are wondering about your coverage, you should ask your insurer. Otherwise, costs can be discussed with the allergy clinic.

Reduces Your Need for Long-term Medication

Unlike the allergy medications that work because they mask the symptoms, allergy shots are for reducing your trigger sensitivity. However, it takes a bit of time before this immunity is developed

Allergy shots happen in 2 phases: buildup and then maintenance.

The buildup phase means getting allergy shots on schedule until your body develops immunity.

After that, you will switch to the maintenance phase.

You can visit allergist specialist Manassas to get your allergy shots.

Facts About Seasonal Allergies

In case you have seasonal allergies, and have been living with them for many years, you most likely experienced sneezing through the season. It is important for you to call an allergy doctor and have them prescribe you medicine regularly. Your activity should be monitored so that your allergen exposure is limited. However, are you aware that thunderstorms can cause allergy symptoms to appear?

If you are unaware of the other surprising facts about seasonal allergies, you need to read this article to know more about them. You might even be surprised what some of them are.

Read on.

Seasonal Allergies Do Not Normally Last the Whole Year

Seasonal allergies arise when they emerge from plants that produce pollen, like in springtime and they wane during the time when those plants die off during the growing season. However, is not just the time when those that produce pollens emerge. There are trees that do not produce pollen until it is summer, and some weeds might not have flowers until fall. In some states with temperate climates, like southern California, some plants might produce pollen all year.

Moving Will Not Really Cure Allergies

A lot of people think that they can rid of allergies when they move to another location. The unfortunate thing is that once you develop allergies, they will most likely return over time wherever you go. You might think that the first 1 to 2 years will be allergy-free, but you are still not clear. You can eat farmer’s honey because it can decrease allergies that are environmentally free in some situations.

There is No Such Thing as “Hay” or “Fever”

For many decades, people have called allergies “hay fever”, but pollen is not produced by “hay”, and fever does not come from seasonal allergies. The truth is that seasonal allergies are because of the body’s overreaction to common pollens lingering in the air. When these pollens are inhaled, the immune system sees them as a danger and it attacks them aggressively, which causes a runny nose or itchy eyes. With the “hay fever”, the term arose during the early 1800s and it might have referred to a lung infection because of inhaling dust while they stack hay.

Allergy Changes While We Age

New allergies can develop at any point in your life. If you already have an allergic reaction to a certain plant or other allergens, there is a tendency that it will happen again and again even after you received shots.

Despite suffering from allergies in the past, there is a chance that you will be allergic to another one.

Controlling Your Environment May Control Your Allergy Symptoms

A lot of people think of allergy treatments are given in pills, shots, or nasal irrigation. You should not overlook how valuable it is to keep your living environment pollen-free. In order to do this, some allergy doctors talk about taking steps in the allergy season, like removing shoes and outwear before they enter houses. When you wash and shower once you are home, it can rinse off pollen from your body. Outdoor pets attract pollen, and around the house, you should use blinds or shades instead of drapery or fabric. Your doors must be kept shut during the allergy season.

If you are suffering from seasonal allergies, you should consult with an allergist Manassas VA to help you manage the symptoms.

Can You Beat Allergies?

If you have been struggling with allergies you are most likely asking, can you beat allergies? The answer is yes, you can do it. Besides visiting an allergist for some medication, there are plenty of other things you can do to beat allergies. Some of these things include:

Shut out the allergens

If you are allergic to pollen and other allergens that bring about seasonal allergies, work on keeping the allergens out of the house as possible. One of the most effective ways to go about it is to keep the windows and doors closed during allergy season to protect the indoor air from getting polluted.

Minimize going outside

Since you have locked the doors and windows, you don’t want to drag the allergens into the house, do you?

To ensure that this doesn’t happen, you should minimize going outside. In fact, you will be better off if you can avoid going outside altogether.

If you have to go outside, ensure that you do it when the pollen count isn’t too high, usually late in the afternoon. As a rule of thumb, avoid going outside when there is a lot of pollen, such as early in the morning or when strong winds are blowing.

Wash up

You have worked hard to keep the windows and doors closed, and you don’t want to reverse all of your efforts, do you? To avoid this, always wash up as soon as you come back from the outside.

Even before you step into the house, remove the coat, hat, and even the shoes that might be carrying some pollen. You should then go straight to the bathroom, take a shower, and put away the clothes you were wearing.

Stay ahead of the allergy symptoms.

Asthma and allergy foundation of America (AAFA) observes that the best way to beat allergy is always to stay ahead of it. You can do this by taking medications even before the allergy season strikes.

Allergy medications prevent the body from releasing histamine and other chemicals that make your life unbearable, so when you start your medications early enough, you don’t develop the symptoms meaning that you will have beaten the allergies.

There are plenty of medications you can use to beat the allergies, such as antihistamines and sprays. Most of the medications are available over the counter, but it’s always wise to consult your healthcare provider for the best advice.

Wear a mask

Most people have come to know about masks with the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, but if you want to beat allergies, you have to wear the mask whether there is Covid or not.

The purpose of the mask is to protect you from inhaling the allergens.

For the best protection, go with N95 respirator masks that you can easily find from your local medical supply stores and drugstores.

Eat healthily

Allergies compromise your immune system, so if you want to beat the condition, you need to strengthen your body’s defense system.

One of the most effective ways is to eat healthy foods such as fresh vegetables, fruits, and nuts.

During the allergy season, stock up on tomatoes, oranges, apples, grapes, and other foods that will help you fight the annoying allergens.

Know your triggers

You can’t fight something you don’t know about, can you? So to have an easy time-fighting allergies, ensure that you know the allergens triggering your condition.

The best way to do it is to visit your allergy doctor Manassas VA, who will undertake a battery of tests and help you know what your body is allergic to. As a rule of thumb, stay away from these allergy-causing materials.

What Diseases Do Allergists Treat?

Have you been advised to see an allergist for your condition, and you are wondering what diseases do allergists treat? Well, they treat a myriad of conditions that include:

Hay fever

Also known as allergy rhinitis or sinus allergy, hay fever is a common allergic reaction that takes place in the nose and nasal passages. The common symptoms of the condition include: stuffy nose, sneezing, runny nose, and nose itching.

The condition goes by different names depending on the trigger and when it comes about. When pollens or outdoor molds trigger it during the spring, summer, or fall, it’s known as hay fever or seasonal allergy.

When the condition comes about due to exposure to house dust mites, indoor molds, pets, and other allergy triggers, it’s known as perennial allergic rhinitis.

Asthma and frequent cough

Asthma affects the airways in the lungs, making them inflamed and swollen. The inflammation increases the chances of the airways being bothered by allergens and other things such as stress, smoke, cold air, and exercise.

The airway muscle spasms block the airflow to the lungs bringing about difficulty in breathing, coughing, tight feeling in the chest, and wheezing. In some cases, the only symptom is a chronic cough at night after exercising or when laughing.

Eye allergies

Also known as allergic conjunctivitis, eye allergies lead to tearing, itching, redness, and burning. Eye allergies are caused by the same allergy triggers that cause allergic rhinitis and can lead to plenty of symptoms such as stuffy nose, sneezing, and sniffling.

Different allergy doctors treat eye allergies differently. Some treat them using medications, while others do it with immunotherapy.

Food allergies

These are self-explanatory. You develop allergic symptoms after consuming certain foods. Different people are allergic to different foods. Common allergic foods include: milk, eggs, peanuts, wheat, shellfish, and tree nuts.

Food allergy symptoms can be mild or severe depending on the toxicity levels. Common food allergy symptoms include: stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, hives, indigestion, headaches, stuffy nose, runny nose, sneezing, and in severe cases, the food allergy can trigger anaphylaxis which is a severe and life-threatening condition.

When you visit an allergy doctor, the doctor will undertake a battery of tests to determine the food you are specifically allergic to. Of course, to avoid allergies in the future, you should stay away from allergy-causing foods.

Skin allergies

The common skin allergens are foods, animals, medicines, and chemicals. When these materials get on your skin, they cause eczema, contact dermatitis, and hives. Sometimes these reactions happen quickly, but in other cases, they take hours or even days to develop, such as in the case of poison ivy.

Sinus infections

Also known as sinusitis, sinus infections are common in people with allergies affecting the nose, such as allergic rhinitis. The constant stuffy and runny nose inflames the nasal passages, causing them to swell.

The common symptoms of this condition include: cough, thick discharge, and occasional pain in the forehead running around and in between the eyes or in the cheeks, upper jaw, and teeth.

Although most of the sinus infection symptoms are mild, sometimes people with asthma develop the condition, complicating the disease and making it more severe and deadly.

Anaphylaxis

This is a rare allergic reaction that affects different parts of the body at the same time, and if you don’t fix it early enough, it can be fatal. The condition can be triggered by different materials such as food, insect sting, medication, or latex in rubber products.

The worst symptoms of the condition affect the respiratory system or the cardiovascular system.

The most common systems include difficulty breathing, wheezing, nausea, hives, dizziness, stomach cramping, and many others. To prevent the condition from worsening, see an allergy specialist Manassas VA as soon as the symptoms come up.

How Do You Fend Off Allergies?

Do you regularly get sick in spring due to seasonal allergies, and you don’t want it to be the case this year? According to allergy specialist doctors, there are plenty of ways you can protect yourself.

How do you fend off allergies? Here are some of the ways to go about it:

Stay indoors

Seasonal allergies come about due to exposure to pollen and other allergy-causing materials, and one of the best ways to stay away from them is to stay indoors.

Since you will be spending a lot of time in the house during the allergy season, you should ensure that the surface is clean and allergy-proof. Some of the things you can do to make the house allergy-proof include:

Remove the carpets and rugs and leave the floor bare. When you do this, you remove the areas that the allergy-causing pollen can adhere to and bring about allergies.

Clean the house regularly and keep the knickknacks and houseplants to a minimum. This is to remove any pollen that might have entered the house. Removing the plants gets rid of surfaces the pollen can adhere to and worsen your allergies.

Keep the pets in the house and prevent them from going outside as much as possible. When the pets are indoors, keep them off the furniture and bedroom. This is because they might have collected allergy-causing materials.

Clean your bedding and clothing with hot water at least once a week.

For the pillows and mattresses, go with anti-allergen covers.

Eat the right foods

The reason you are getting sick is that your immune system is misbehaving. The good news is you can correct it by taking the right foods that will strengthen it.

As a rule of thumb, avoid excess sugars as they can take a toll on your system and weaken you.

Some of the best foods to take are foods rich in vitamin C. These include: oranges, carrots, broccoli, and leaf vegetables.

Sometimes allergies come about due to inflammation in the body, and you can correct it by maintaining a healthy gut by eating anti-inflammatory foods and probiotics. You can also add ginger and turmeric to the foods and drinks to boost your immunity.

Raw, local honey has also been found to be highly effective at fighting off allergies, so you should find it and take it. Local honey is an effective antidote because it contains pollen that the bees have been pollinating, and by introducing it into the body, you train the immune system on how to fight the symptoms.

Adjust your home humidity

Mold is a known leading cause of indoor allergies, so if you have been indoors all the time and you are having allergy symptoms, this is most likely due to mold. Mold thrives in moisture, so to control it, you need to reduce the moisture levels in the house.

Two of the best ways to go about it is to use an air conditioner or dehumidifier. For the best outcome, keep the home humidity levels close to 50%. To ensure that you are maintaining the right moisture levels, use a hygrometer.

Besides using the dehumidifier and air conditioner, clean the water spills promptly, replace the air filters, and fix any leaks as soon as you notice them.

Get rid of rats and cockroaches.

Allergy doctor Manassas VA reports that cockroaches are a common cause of allergies and asthma especially in children so if you have roaches in your house, you should strive to get rid of them as much as possible. You can try getting rid of water and food sources for the roaches or seek professional services to get rid of them.

Types of Seasonal Allergies and How to Deal With Them

Seasonal allergies are one of the most popular types of allergies, and they are characterized by cold-like symptoms such as sneezing, congestion, and runny nose. While the allergies are grouped in one, you should note there are many types of seasonal allergies you can suffer from. The most common ones as given by allergy specialist doctor include:

Spring allergies

These allergies result from pollen from the trees, and they start pollinating from January to April, depending on your location and climatic conditions.

The most common trees that bring about spring allergies include: ash, olive, elm, oak, maple, walnut, cypress, sycamore and others.

Summer allergies

The leading cause of summer allergies is grass pollen. Besides the usual sneezing and coughing, many people have reported developing itching and hives due to coming into contact with the grass during the allergy season.

Fall allergies

Weed pollen is the main cause of fall allergies. Depending on your location, these weeds will include: pigweed, tumbleweed, sagebrush, ragweed, and cocklebur.

How do you deal with seasonal allergies?

You can’t control the fact you are allergic to tree, weed or grass pollen, but you can adopt several strategies that will help you keep the seasonal allergies under control. Some of these strategies include:

Reduce your exposure to the allergy triggers

This is probably the most effective way to bring the condition under control. To reduce your exposure to the elements, you need to:

Stay indoors during the dry, windy days and only go outside after a good rain. At this time, the pollen count in the air is less, so you have fewer chances of developing allergies.

Most homeowners mow their lawns on Saturdays. However, you should consider hiring a lawn mowing company during the allergy season to help with the mowing instead of doing it yourself. If you can’t afford to hire a professional, let the grass grow and cut it once the season is over.

Do you love riding the bike or jogging in the evening or early in the morning? Don’t do it during the allergy season. Instead, you should switch from working out outdoors and exercise in the house. One great way to go about it is to invest in a stationary bike.

Keep the indoor air clean.

Since you will be avoiding going outside to avoid coming into contact with the harmful pollen, you should ensure that no pollen is coming into the house from the outside. And the beauty of it is that it’s possible to do it.

One of the things you should do is to use a high-quality air conditioning system.

If you have a forced-air heating and air conditioning system in your house? Use high-efficiency filters that will filter as much debris from the air getting into the house as possible, so you only have fresh air getting in.

For even better air quality, have a portable high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter in your bedroom.

You also should regularly clean your house with a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter.

Use medications

If you do the above and still the symptoms catch up with you, try to control the condition using medications. Thankfully, there are many types of medications you can go with. The most common ones are:

Oral antihistamines: These will help relieve sneezing, itching, watery eyes, and runny nose.

Decongestants: Oral decongestants such as pseudoephedrine provide temporary relief from nasal stuffiness.

Nasal sprays: The most popular nasal spray you can use is Cromolyn sodium. For best results, start using it before the symptoms kick in.

Combination medications: Here, you need to check into an allergy clinic Germantown MD, and the allergy doctor will prescribe several drug combinations such as antihistamines and decongestants.

Can You Develop Allergies To Cats Later In Life?

Picture this. You are a cat person, and you grew up with cats as a child. Heck. You even have one in your house right now.

One evening after a long day at work, as you are cuddling your furry friend, you start sneezing, and your eyes start getting red.

You are worried. Can you develop allergies to cats later in life? You wonder.

Like food allergies, cat allergies can develop later in life, but you shouldn’t rush to concluding that you have the allergies.

The first thing you should do is visit an allergy clinic, and the allergist will do a skin or blood test to confirm that you are truly suffering from cat allergies.

How can you control allergies?

After the doctor has confirmed that you are suffering from cat allergies, you should develop ways to protect yourself from them. Luckily, there are plenty of ways you can do it, with the most popular ones being:

Using medications

There are plenty of medications you can use to control the symptoms:

Decongestants: Like the over-the-counter pseudoephedrine and other allergy drugs, decongestants contain Claritin, Allegra-D, and Zyrtec-D that come in handy at easing the allergy symptoms.

Antihistamines: The beauty of most antihistamines is they are available over the counter, so you can easily access them. The most popular options include: fexofenadine, loratadine, diphenhydramine, and azelastine.

Nasal steroid sprays: These are meant to ease the asthma symptoms brought about by the condition. The most popular steroid sprays you can use are: fluticasone, budesonide, and triamcinolone.

Allergy shots: Although, they aren’t the first line of cat allergy treatment options as they aren’t often effective and take longer to complete, they can be of great value to some people.

Reducing your exposure to cats

The other way you can control the cat allergy symptoms is by reducing your exposure to the cats. Some of the ways you can reduce your exposure to these felines include:

Don’t touch, hug or kiss the cats: Even if you are single and it’s only the cat you have with you, you should avoid hugging, touching, or kissing them regardless of the inclination.

Be cautious of your cat-loving friends: Since you are a cat person, you most likely have a couple of cat-loving friends, right? After confirming that you are suffering from cat allergies, you need to be cautious when interacting with them.

Even if they don’t come visiting with their cats, chances are they have cat dander on their clothes and luggage, and this can make you sick when you hug or get too close to them.

Have a separate room for the cat: If you are lucky to have a large house with many rooms, consider having a separate room for your cat. This will minimize the contact, and at the same time, it will be easy to clean for the cat.

Get rid of the cat: If you aren’t too attached to the cat, you will be better off getting rid of the cat from your house. No, you don’t need to kill the cat. Instead, give the cat to a cat-loving person. The person can be your friend or even a family member. You only need to ensure they love cats and they will take good care of it.

If you don’t know a person that would love a cat in real life, there are plenty of online resources that help people swap cats and other pets, and you can use these to your advantage.

It will be painful to part with a loved one, but it will save you plenty and expensive trips to an allergy specialist Germantown MD seeking medications and consultations.

Does Exercise Help Asthma?

When many people have asthma, they rush to buy asthma medications or see the available asthma doctor. What they don’t realize is they can ease the symptoms by exercising.

Does exercise help asthma? When done right, it does ease the symptoms. The reason for this is because the exercises:

Reduce inflammation
Improve lung capacity
Increase endurance
Improve the cardiovascular fitness
Strengthen muscle

For best results, avoid exercising outdoors in frigid temperatures, as the low temperatures will worsen the condition. Some of the best asthma exercises that you can engage in include:

Indoor swimming

As much as you will be interacting with low water temperatures, swimming is one of the best asthma exercises you can engage in. It exerts fluid pressure on the chest, you have low pollen exposure, and you breathe in moist, warm air.

While swimming is a great exercise, you should be cautious as the chlorinated waters have been problematic for some people. If you aren’t used to swimming, take caution when you are getting in the waters as you might be allergic to the waters.

Diaphragmatic breathing

If you are into yoga or you don’t like engaging in strenuous exercises, you can engage in diaphragmatic breathing and other types of breathing exercises.

In diaphragmatic breathing, you need to learn how to breathe from the region around the diaphragm instead of from your chest. And by so doing, you strengthen your diaphragm, slow your breathing and decrease the body’s oxygen needs.

To practice diaphragmatic breathing, you need to lie on your back with your knees bent and the pillow under your knees. You can also opt to sit up straight on your chair. With one of your hands on your upper chest and the other on your stomach, breathe slowly through your nose.

While moving the hand on your stomach but keeping the one on your chest still, breathe slowly through your pursed lips. You should keep practising this technique until you can breathe in and out without moving your chest.

You can engage in other excellent breathing exercises such as: nasal breathing, Buteyko breathing, yoga breathing, and pursed-lip breathing.

Recreating biking

Do you love biking? You should pick up your bike and use it to leisurely bike around the estate. Since you are asthmatic, don’t exert a lot of pressure on it as it can worsen the situation. For best results, bike at a leisurely pace.

If it’s during the high pollen season, consider doing the biking when there isn’t a lot of pollen in the air. You can even do indoor cycling on a stationary bike so that you don’t come into contact with the annoying pollen.

Hiking

Hiking is another excellent exercise you can engage in but don’t do the hiking on a steep trail. The right way to go about it is to choose a relatively flat trail or a steady decline, then have fun.

Before you go out, first check the local pollen count and only proceed with hiking if the pollen levels are low.

Valuable tips for exercising with asthma

Use an inhaler before you exercise. The inhaled medications will relax the airways, making it easy for you to breathe during physical activity.

Warm-up and cool down. Before you begin the exercises, let the body adjust the exercise and when you are done with the exercise, gradually stop the activity.

When you are going outside, cover your nose and mouth with a mask or scarf. This is to prevent the dryness of the cool air from tightening your airways.

Finally, experts in allergy center Germantown MD recommend limiting your exposure to pollen and pollution as much as possible by exercising indoors or only going outside when the pollen count is low in the air.