Asthma is the most common chronic condition for women in pregnancy. While Asthma control can affect pregnancy, pregnancy too can affect Asthma. Yet while pregnancy does not beget Asthma, neither does it abate.

Nevertheless, Asthma management during pregnancy is very important. Improper Asthma management, especially in difficult Asthma, during pregnancy may imperil both the mother and the child.

Along with taking the right medications, Asthma patients also need to avoid exposure to Asthma triggers.

Avoiding Asthma Triggers

Asthma triggers may be different for different people. In general, one or a few of the following act as Asthma triggers:

Allergens like pollen, dust mite etc.

Smoking

Certain exercises

Certain occupational exposure

Pollution

Certain drugs like  blockers, aspirin etc.

Alcohol, dairy products, orange juice, peanuts etc.

Additives like tartrazine, monosodium glutamate etc.

Certain medical conditions like gastric reflux, rhinitis etc.

Apart from avoiding these Asthma triggers, she would also need to follow the instructions of her gynecologists. She should always be concerned that if the treatment is not working or if she is experiencing any trouble, she must consult with the gynecologists. She can also do some exercises to stay active and healthy.

However, she should always consult a doctor before doing any exercise, especially for those who have experienced Asthma attacks in the past.

Effects of Asthma on Pregnancy

Poor Asthma management and difficult Asthma before pregnancy are associated with increased risk of hypertension during pregnancy, which can beget Preeclampsia. Studies have also shown that women with Asthma tend to undergo Caesarean sections more than others. It has also been observed that Asthma may restrict the growth of the fetus leading to low birth weight.

However, this is more due to poor Asthma control such as persistent breathing difficulty or poor lung function etc., than Asthma per se.

Effects of Pregnancy on Asthma

Certain physiological factors during pregnancy do affect Asthma. In difficult Asthma, control usually deteriorates between 24 and 36 weeks of pregnancy, mainly due to poor adherence to corticosteroids. This is why pregnant women with Asthma should be monitored closely irrespective of the severity of Asthma.

Breathlessness in Pregnancy

Breathlessness during pregnancy is common. In fact, even pregnant women with no Asthma symptoms may feel breathless at times. It reflects some normal physiological and anatomical changes during pregnancy. Even anxiety may precipitate breathlessness. This indicates that pregnant women with difficult Asthma may feel breathless, not just because of Asthma, but also because of normal changes during this period. However, new incidents of Asthma can also be a cause of breathlessness.

Respiratory Distress in Pregnant Women

Respiratory distress in pregnant women may not always be due to asthma. There may be a whole host of reasons that include Anxiety, Hyperventilation, chest infection, dysfunctional breathing, pneumonia, interstitial lung disease, thromboembolic disease, amniotic fluid embolism, pneumothorax, ischemic heart disease, arrhythmias, cardiomyopathy and a variety of endocrine, hematological and renal disorders.

Preventing Respiratory Distress During Pregnancy

Apart from avoiding Asthma triggers, pregnant women with Asthma or difficult Asthma need to strictly adhere to Asthma control. This indicates that they need to adhere to their corticosteroids religiously. However, before that, they also need to make sure that the corticosteroid is safe to be taken during pregnancy.

Asthma may or may not affect pregnancy. However, it is always a great idea to go for Asthma management. This will help women deal with complications related to Asthma during pregnancy.

Apart from that, always consult a doctor before going for any medication related to Asthma control, or actual treatment of Asthma.

Difficult Asthma - All You Should Know!

The inflammations of the lining in the bronchial tubes, which are responsible for carrying air from and to your lungs are known as bronchitis. It is a respiratory disease and more than a million cases are reported each year. Bronchitis requires medical diagnosis by your healthcare provider and can be chronic or acute. Cold or other respiratory infections can cause acute bronchitis whereas smoking leads to chronic bronchitis. Acute bronchitis usually lasts for few days but with persistent cough. Whereas, chronic bronchitis can be responsible for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Symptoms of bronchitis:
The symptoms common to both acute and chronic bronchitis are given below:
1. Cough which may form mucus
2. Body aches and breathlessness
3. Headaches, blocked nose and sinuses
4. Fever with chills
5. Wheezing

The diagnosis of bronchitis is done by your doctor who will ask you about your cough. Some other questions may include your medical history, about smoking or whether you have had cases of flu or cold recently.

Treatment for bronchitis:
Your doctor will mainly recommend pain relievers and cough syrup along with warm air to breathe mainly at indoors. However your doctor may prescribe the following medications in cases of severe bronchitis:

1. Cough medicine: These medicines will help to remove mucus and irritants from your lungs. Medicines may not be able to suppress the symptoms completely but will give you relief from pain.
2. Bronchodilators: Which clears out the mucus by opening your bronchial tubes.
3. Mucolytics: These helps loosen mucus in the airways and help to cough up sputum.
4. Oxygen therapy: It will help to improve the oxygen intake when you face difficulty in breathing.
5. Therapy: Pulmonary program will include a therapist who would work to improve your breathing.
6. Medicines: Using anti inflammatory medicines to reduce damage to your lungs tissue and to also avoid chronic inflammation.

Prevention of bronchitis:

Acute and chronic bronchitis can be reduced by the following measures; however, they cannot be completely prevented:
1. Avoiding dust, smoke, and air pollution. You can always wear a mask when you are on the road or in traffic.
2. Washing your hands often to avoid germs and infections.
3. Avoiding smoking as it can cause harmful damage to your lungs.

All About Bronchitis

Asthma is a chronic lung disease that inflames and narrows the airways.  The narrowing of the airway causes recurrent asthma attacks, wherein air flow to lungs is obstructed. Asthma causes recurring periods of wheezing, chest tightness, shortness of breath, and coughing. It cannot be completely cured but it can be helped with minimizing triggers

The triggers can be different for different people. Most common triggers come from:

1) In house - Mold (fungi), dust mites, cockroaches, pet dander.

2) Outside - Air pollution, smog, cigarette, smoke, paint fumes, chemicals, sprays, pollen, industrial dust

3) Allergies - Peanuts, eggs, fish, lactose and food preservatives

4) Other Triggers - Physical exercise, anxiety, agitation, respiratory infections, medications like aspirin, ibuprofen, etc.

Here are top home remedies to control the attack and keep their frequency and intensity low.

1) Ginger - Ginger helps a great deal. You can consume crush it, mix its juice with honey and consume it or boil it in water and drink. 

2) Honey - Mix a spoon of honey with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon powder and have it right before bed. Also, you can add a spoon of honey in warm water and sip on it during the day. Honey and ginger juice in equal parts is very soothing too.

3) Figs - Having figs that have been soaked overnight helps in controlling asthma. Consuming dried figs helps in flushing out the phlegm from your respiratory tract.

4) Mustard - A mixture of warm mustard oil and camphor can be massaged on chest for instant relief. A spoon of mustard oil mixed with an equal quantity of sugar is known to alleviate the symptoms.



Asthma - Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, and Home Remedies (World Asthma Day Special)

Bronchitis is the inflammation of the lining of the bronchial tubes present in the lungs. The inflammation may occur due to a bacterial or a viral infection or even due to some allergy. As the mucous membranes get irritated due to the inflammation, there is swelling. This swelling can cause narrowing of the airways. This narrowing causes difficulty in breathing. At the same time, due to the inflammation, a lot of mucous is produced. The narrow airways are unable to wash off the mucous causing mucous to collect within the lungs.

Bronchitis can be of two different forms - mild and chronic. Those with chronic bronchitis would have to be extra careful during change of season and when they catch a cold so that their bronchial tubes do not flare up. At times, bronchitis is caused due to allergic reactions in the body. Such allergies mostly constitute allergies from pollen, dust, paints and the likes.

Bronchitis Symptoms

Cough and production of mucous or sputum are the two most common symptoms of bronchitis.

Due to excess production of mucous within the bronchial tubes, the cough reflex is induced in a bid to get rid of the mucous. The mucous is usually whitish in colour.

Often patients feel shortness of breath.

There may be wheezing in the chest while breathing. A sensation of tightness or heaviness in the chest may be felt.

Exercising or running or climbing stairs is often difficult as the compromised lungs are unable to meet the increased requirements of oxygen.

In such cases, many lines of treatments can be undergone to provide relief from the discomfort. However, homeopathy is one of the best treatments which would involve fast relief and quick comfort from bronchitis.

Homeopathic Treatment For Bronchitis

When it comes to treating bronchitis, Homeopathy is very effective. In fact, it is the most promising system of medicine for the treatment of bronchitis. Homeopathic medicines serve as a very reliable and safe treatment to get rid of Bronchitis. They are free from any side effects and there is absolutely no chance of suppression in the Homeopathic treatment of Bronchitis. They prove a great helping hand in easy coughing out of the mucus from the bronchi. As the mucus is effortlessly thrown out with aid of properly selected Homeopathic medicines, the cough, chest pain and difficulty in breathing also begin to subside and almost end. Here are five of the most used homeopathic medicines for treating bronchitis.

Arsenic Album: Bronchitis, mild or severe, manifests certain symptoms. In case, bronchitis experienced by you is accompanied by wheezing, increase in cough during the night, and extreme weakness and restlessness; then arsenic album is the best medicine for your treatment. There is also an ardent increase in your want to drink water, although very little liquid intake actually happens at one go. These symptoms are enough for the medical practitioner to prescribe the above medicine to you.

Bryonia: Bryonia is administered when the patient has a dry mucous and dry cough due to bronchitis. This dryness causes him/her to increase the liquid intake in the body. It has also been noticed that cough is aggravated on entering any warm space.

Pulsatilla: This is prescribed when cough worsens during the evening and night while it is relatively stable during the day. The patient suffers from greenish to whitish mucous discharges and goes relatively thirstless during the suffering period. It becomes difficult for the patient to lie down while having this kind of bronchitis as it only aggravates cough, thus forcing him to sit up all the time.

Antim Tart: Mostly administered to children and elders, this medicine works best when there is rattling of cough inside the chest. However, it actually becomes difficult to discharge it. Moreover, the patient finds it difficult to lie down peacefully on their right side, forcing them to shift often while sleeping.

Hepar Sulphur: When cough is excited by advent of cold air, it becomes increasingly needful to administer Hepar Sulphur. Here, cough increases in the morning followed by wheezing and rattling.

Bronchitis is a common chest infection and can be treated with much ease with these tested homeopathic medicines. However, before you take on any medication, it is always recommended to consult a specialized homeopath for individualized treatment.

Homeopathy - A Perfect Remedy For Allergic Bronchitis!

The festival of Diwali is greeted with great pomp and splendour and along with the regular festivities, the pollution levels in the air also rise due to the ritual of bursting fire crackers. In an analysis, the rise of harmful pollutants such as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide seemed to reveal a disturbing outcome.

The rise in pollution during Diwali affects you in the following ways:

The PM (particulate matter which is smaller than 2.5mm) enters your lungs and bloodstream and has several health impacts including chronic respiratory symptoms such as painful breathing and shortness of breath which might cause premature death.
High sulphur dioxide levels in the air during Diwali also lead to inflammation of air passages and causes complications in respiration.
A compound called  strontium  found in the atmosphere multiplies by 120 times during the festival and causes bone damage and blood clotting ailments.
Firecrackers contain heavy metals which are toxic to the human body and the amount of magnesium in the air goes up by 22x, which poses a significant threat to all forms of life.
The noise pollution also rises during the festival and in extreme cases, can permanently damage one s hearing.
However, there are a few measures you can undertake to steer clear of the excessive pollutants present in the air:

Limit the amount of time you spend outdoors even while exercising. This is because the air remains contaminated, days after all the festivities get over and the pollutants take a very long time to dissipate.
Even on the road, drive with the windows of your car rolled up to avoid intake of adulterated air and use a face mask if you are a two-wheeler rider.
Plant a lot of green plants inside your house as they purify the air you are breathing and ensure a supply of fresh oxygen.
Install an air purifier in the room to make sure you breathe in fresh, uncontaminated oxygen when you sleep. The air purifier will also help in lessening your respiratory complications.
Also, in case you notice any respiratory or breathing problem, it is advisable that you consult a pulmonologist, to rule out serious health issues. 

Diwali - How the Rise in Pollution Level Affects Your Health?

We take the act of breathing for granted, but for many people this simple action can be quite difficult. Difficulty breathing is one of the characteristic symptoms of asthma. This is because of an inflamed, narrow airway. Asthma can be allergic, hereditary, emotional or occupational in nature and can significantly lower the quality of a person s life.

Homoeopathy is a holistic form of treatment that addresses not only the symptoms of a problem, but its root cause. This form of treatment takes into consideration the physical, mental and emotional state of a person. It has negligible side effects and hence can be prescribed to people of all ages. 

Some of the most frequently prescribed homeopathic remedies for asthma are:

Ipecac: This is used in cases where the patient suffers from sudden wheezing, dyspnoea, anxiety and feels a weight on his chest. In such cases, the asthma is aggravated by motion and a constant cough often causes gagging and vomiting.
Arsenicum: Arsenicum is beneficial in cases where the patient is elderly and asthmatic attacks are more frequent after midnight. These patients suffer from anxiety, restlessness, burning in the chest, dry dysponea and fear suffocation. Allergic asthma caused by humidity can also be treated by arsenicum.
Antim Tart: This is prescribed to patients who suffer from a rattling cough with little mucus expectoration. In many instances this cough is triggered by eating and can be relieved by lying on one side. This type of asthma also makes the patient feel drowsy and weak. Antim Tart is especially beneficial for young children and elderly people.
Nux Vomica: Asthma can also be triggered by gastric troubles. In such instances breathing is more difficult in the morning and is marked by a dry cough and a feeling of fullness in the stomach. Nux Vomica is an excellent remedy for such types of asthma. These asthmatic cases also worsen in winters and may be accompanied by a headache or stomach ache.
Carbo veg: This homoeopathic remedy is prescribed in cases where the patient s face turns blue at the time of an asthmatic attack. These patients also suffer from stomach troubles and a cough accompanied by itchiness in the larynx. Along with this, they tend to feel cold, especially in their hands and feet.
Though homoeopathy has negligible side effects, it should not be used to self medicate. Homeopathic medicine should be prescribed only after the doctor has a thorough physical and emotional understanding of the patient.

Asthma - 5 Homeopathic Remedies to Help You Treat it

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