People with asthma encounter numerous challenges all year round. These individuals typically encounter the following asthma triggers: pollen and thunderstorms during spring, high humidity and pollution in summer, flu and ragweed in spring, and frigid temperatures and indoor allergens in winter. Once the holidays start in winter, people with asthma have to manage their condition while enjoying the festive season.
Fortunately, you don’t have to limit yourself from having fun during the winter with the help of these four tips for managing your asthma this cold season:
1. Have an Asthma Treatment Plan in Place
Asthma is easier to manage if you’re well aware of its symptoms and treatment. Before the winter season starts, consult with your physician and curate an asthma treatment plan that you’ll have to follow in the event of flare-ups. Your asthma plan should include preventing, recognizing, and treating your asthma symptoms.
Having a treatment plan approved by a medical professional is paramount in ensuring flare-up prevention and management to reduce emergency visits and more intensive recoveries. Also, asthma medications like prednisone are prescription drugs accessible as a part of a treatment plan. Check out this link to see the prices of prednisone at different pharmacies: https://www.goodrx.com/prednisone.
2. Get a Flu Shot Before Winter
Along with visiting your physician, it’s the best time of the year to have your flu shot for protection and prevention. People with asthma are at high risk of developing flu-related complications. In addition to that, flu vaccines are updated for every season as flu viruses change, so you have to be sure to get a flu shot every year.
Through talking with your physician, they may choose to administer injectable influenza vaccines (flu shots) or the nasal spray vaccine (live attenuated influenza vaccine)—whichever is best for your condition.
Moreover, getting pneumococcal vaccines can safeguard you against pneumococcal diseases common in the cold months, like bloodstream infections, pneumonia, and meningitis.
3. Ensure Good Indoor Air Quality
Asthmatic people face numerous challenges during the winter. It turns out that your home isn’t 100% safe from asthma triggers as there are indoor pollutants and allergens that can irritate your condition.
To combat these issues while staying at home, you should maintain good indoor air quality at all times with the following tips:
- Invest in high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters and clean them regularly
- Keep your home cool and dry to prevent dust mites and mold from growing
- Maintain indoor humidity at less than 50%
You should also be sure to keep your home clean, especially if you have pets, as dirt and dander can gather and trigger asthmatic reactions.
4. Reduce Outdoor Exposure
The second challenge that asthmatic people encounter in the winter is the freezing outdoor temperature. As the temperature drops, it becomes more difficult to breathe because you inhale dry, cold air. This air can excessively dry out your airways and trigger asthma symptoms. Also, cold air encourages thicker and stickier mucus production that can put irritate your breathing.
Unless necessary, you can prevent asthma flare-ups by staying at home. If you regularly exercise outdoors, it’ll be safer to skip your outdoor exercise in the winter and focus on working out indoors. Don’t forget to bring your inhaler every time you go out.
Take-Home Message
There’s no safe season when it comes to having asthma, but one can manage their condition through being knowledgeable about its causes, symptoms, and treatment options. As winter poses several dangers for your respiratory and immune system, take the extra mile to take care of yourself and follow these tips in helping your asthma this dry and cold season.
