Tag: Irritants

What Is Chronic Airways Disease and How Can Physiotherapy Help?

What Is Chronic Airways Disease and How Can Physiotherapy Help?

Chronic airways disease is actually a group of diseases. These diseases are also called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Chronic airways disease can cause a major change in the quality of a patient’s life. However, physiotherapy can help.

Diseases included in chronic airways disease are chronic bronchitis and emphysema, for example. Many other diseases that restrict or limit breathing are included. It is most often caused by cigarette smoking, but also can be caused by inhaling other irritants such as those in the workplace. Chronic airways disease is more common among the elderly.

Along with having shortness of breath, the patient is likely to wheeze and cough frequently. He will produce sputum in copious amounts, and sometimes that will be streaked with blood. The lips and fingers can take on a bluish tint because he is not getting enough oxygen, and heart trouble may follow for the same reason.

Physiotherapy can help with chronic airways disease in many ways. One is in breathing retraining. This is just what it sounds like. A physiotherapist works with the patient to teach him ways to breathe that will draw the most air while eliminating the most wheezing. This can be a great help for those with chronic airways disease.

Another method used by physiotherapists for those with chronic airways disease is called clapping and postural drainage. The postural drainage part is done by positioning the body so that the affected lung is above the trachea.

Many people do this at home by lying on a bed and bending the top half of the body over it. The physiotherapist teaches one how to do this so that the lung will drain. Before long, the patient with chronic airways disease will be doing this procedure on his own.

The other part of the help for chronic airways disease patients is called clapping. This is done by cupping the hand and clapping the back to loosen secretions in the chest. It is also called chest percussion. The physiotherapist will do this procedure, and will teach it to a family member or caregiver.

People with chronic airways disease often have a problem with weakening legs. This is because, as they have trouble breathing, they avoid walking or doing physical exercise of any sort. The goal of physiotherapy in this case is to strengthen the legs through treadmill-walking or stationary-cycling. This can only be done, however, if the patient is well enough to start out.

Conditioning the arms of chronic airways disease patients is just as important. Most daily jobs rely heavily on the arms to do the work. Exercises which focus on the arms not only strengthen the muscles of the arms. They also help the patient start breathing better.

Chronic airways disease is a condition that can benefit from physiotherapy. The physiotherapist treating the patient must have specialized knowledge for this type of treatment. Simple methods can be overlooked as modern treatments come to the forefront. Yet, physiotherapy personnel who know this technique can make a big difference in patients’ lives.

Asthma And Air Purifiers

Asthma is caused by different triggering factors. The most common triggers are pollution, dust, pollen, and air irritants. If you breathe-in these triggers, you will have an asthma attack soon. Breathing is already part of the bodys natural functions. Many people take breathing for granted but asthma patients already know its true value. Even if they can inhale with ease, they will have a difficulty in exhaling. Have you ever experienced gasping for breathe when youre in the water? Thats exactly how asthmatics are feeling during an attack. If you want to breathe-in fresh air, why not use air purifiers?

The air passages and lungs are the main sites for the asthma attack and because of this, asthmatics usually have severe problems in their respiratory tracts. To lessen the symptoms and attacks, you can use air purifiers at home or even in the office.

The air contains a lot of allergens and impurities like chemicals, dust, pollen, etc. Its quite hard to avoid these impurities especially in todays times but with the aid of the purifier, the allergens and impurities are filtered out. You can breathe in comfortably at home and in the office; you can also avoid the attacks and so you can live with ease.

When purchasing air purifiers, you need to consider some things. The first one is to identify the kind of air purifier you need and the other one is the capacity of the purifier. Some air purifiers are suitable for small rooms but there are also purifiers designed for bigger rooms. There are lots of air purifiers to choose from and once youve identified your needs, you will not have any difficulty in looking for one. You can either shop online or you can also shop in local stores. If budget is a great consideration on your part, you can choose an affordable air purifier but keep in mind that quality is still very important. There are quality air purifiers which are sold at very affordable price; you simply need to shop around a bit.

Asthma can be tackled effectively at home if you have an air purifier. Asthmatics suffering from frequent attacks should have the purifier at home because this is the best way to address allergen-induced asthma symptoms.

When the air passages constrict or become inflamed, asthma attacks occur. During the attack, the air passage is already narrowing and the muscles tend to squeeze the airways further. Once the airways are swelled up, the patient is going to suffer mild, moderate, or even severe asthma symptoms.

The asthma attack can take place anywhere and at any time. Once youre exposed to the allergens and impurities, the attack will come very soon. This can be easily handled especially if youre already aware of your triggers. You must remember that you cant remove air impurities entirely and you cant just stay inside the home all the time; you have to go out somehow. The air purifier works in a limited space and so you cant use it outside where theres too mush open space.

Know your needs and your current budget for the home purifier. Shop around and check if the product is of good quality. If you have an air purifier at home and in the office, you can work comfortably and once you get home, you can spend bonding moments with your loved ones.

Asthma Remedies

Before you decide to use any asthma remedies at home, you need to know more about this serious health condition. Did you know that asthma can cause death? Yes, and thats very true; this is the reason why asthma requires immediate treatment to prevent the condition from getting worse. If you think youre at risk of developing the disease, read on.

Asthma attacks occur when there is inflammation of the air passage or bronchial tubes. Asthma is considered as a chronic health condition but even if you have it, you can effectively manage and control it with the help of your doctor. Since the airways are affected, you will experience difficult in breathing. The attacks can be mild or severe but one things for sure, the condition can be deadly when left untreated. In the US, over 20 million people are suffering from asthma.

Asthma is called by different names like reactive airway disease, asthmatic bronchitis, bronchial asthma, and wheezy bronchitis but they all mean one thing. Most of the attacks are triggered by inhaled substances such as animal dander, dust, feather, and pollen. Irritants can also trigger the attacks such as cigarette smoke, odors, gases, and dirt. If you had respiratory infections like bronchitis, sore throats, flu, and colds, you are also at risk. Other factors like emotional stress (excitement and fear), carrying heavy objects, or running (strenuous physical activities), weather conditions (sudden change in temperature or weather) and certain medications (e.g. aspirin) can trigger the attacks as well. Proper management of the disease is required because asthma has no cure. These are the symptoms that you should look out for chest tightness, breath shortness, wheezing, and cough; if you have these symptoms, visit your doctor immediately. Once youre exposed to the asthma triggers, the bronchial tubes become swollen and inflamed.

You cant really tell when the attacks might happen so you need to identify the possible triggers. With the doctors help, you can stay away from the triggers. Individuals who are already diagnosed with asthma often exhibit the symptoms several times in a week especially they engaged in strenuous activities. Heres good news you can control the attacks by using medications prescribed by the doctor. These are the best remedies that you can use:

1. Make a mixture out of Tbsp cinnamon powder and 1 Tbsp honey. Take the mixture before sleeping.

2. If your asthma is still in its early stage, boil c of milk and 10 garlic cloves and drink before bedtime. This is great for asthma patients suffering from severe attacks.

3. Figs help in draining your phlegm. Wash 3-4 figs and drench them in 1 c of water. You can eat the figs when your stomach is empty or you can also drink the soaked water.

4. Soak 1 tsp of Fenugeek seeds in 1 c of water overnight; drink this solution at night, preferably before bedtime.

5. Mince garlic cloves in a hot ginger tea. Give this to the asthma patient 2x a day.

6. Boil ajwain and breathe-in the steam. Add honey and drink it 2x or 3x a day.

7. Make a mixture of 1 gm ginger powder, 1 gm black pepper, and 1 tsp of honey molasses.

Use the remedies mentioned above for treating asthma attacks. The ingredients needed are mostly found in your kitchen so you wont have any problem in preparing them.

What Causes Sinus Infection

Ever wondered what really causes a sinus infection? There are many possibilities and it is sometimes hard to pinpoint which one is the culprit. You could have gotten it while you are at work, out in the mall, doing a certain activity or even at home so here are some of the known causes of sinus infections.

Most sinus infections are caused by the common cold otherwise known as viral influenza. This causes congestion in the nasal passages and inhibits the drainage of the sinuses which is why it becomes inflamed.

When this happens, the nose is filled with mucus caused by the accumulation of white blood cells in the lining of the nose. This makes it difficult for the person to smell or even breathe and the only way to get rid of it is to blow it out.

Generally a common flu stays a maximum for a period of one week. After that we usually recover, but it leaves our sinuses inflamed. The nose is a very sensitive part of our body which catches a viral infection very easily.

Sinus infection can also be caused by exposure to dust particles, pollen and other irritants in the air. If there is too much of this already in the nasal passages, it prevents mucus from draining away. When these bacteria such as streptococcus pneumoniae and haemophilus influenzae end up in our upper respiratory tract and multiply, then it causes us to have a sinus infection.

You can come into contact with these every time you go outdoors or when you are inside the house especially in places where natural sunlight cannot reach. Another example is the fungus known as aspergillus that can cause problems to the immune system.

If you have asthma, you are a high risk for sinus infections because your nasal polyps inside your nose are swollen. This results in chronic sinus infections that could last for 2 weeks.

Lack of water also causes a sinus infection. This is because the mucus will thicken making it difficult for the cilia to move it through the sinuses.

Sinus infections can also happen whenever we are stressed. To prove the point, one such condition known as vasomotor rhinitis shows that stress does cause excessive swelling and mucus production.

You can also get a sinus infection by blowing your nose too much. This is because your nose will swell after blowing it too hard or too much.

Certain activities that are fun can also cause sinus infection. Traveling by air and scuba diving are very common because to much pressure in the sinuses causes bacteria to grow.

If you dont watch your kids carefully, they may inhale harmful substances or other foreign objects that introduce bacteria into the sinuses.

Certain medications are also known to cause sinus infections as a side effect because it may affect the functioning of the mucus membrane.

Lastly, although very rare, you can get a sinus infection from disease teeth because the maxillary sinus in the cheekbone becomes infected by the root of a diseased upper tooth.

There are many causes of sinus infections and it is not only bacterial or viral. Now that