Here’s what it feels like to have bronchial asthma symptoms:
Get a straw. Hold your nose, and try breathing through the straw for 15 seconds like you’re drinking from a glass of lemonade.
Scary, right?
If you’ve never experienced an asthma attack yourself, the Straw Challenge gives you a good idea of what to expect.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates over 235 million people worldwide suffer from asthma, and it’s the most common long-term disease children experience (1).
But adults can experience severe asthma, too.
In this post, you’ll learn the major bronchial asthma symptoms, risk factors, and asthma triggers to look out for. Plus, we’ll cover natural asthma treatment techniques you can use to keep your symptoms in check.
Let’s take a look.
What is Bronchial Asthma?
Bronchial asthma is a fancier name for asthma, an inflammatory disease that makes it hard to breathe due to excess mucus in the respiratory tract and a narrowing of the airways.
You’ve probably heard of related respiratory conditions like chronic bronchitis, allergic asthma (triggered by allergies to particles like dust mites, pollen, and mold), exercise-induced asthma (brought on by physical activity), hay fever, and allergic rhinitis, all of which can affect lung functions.
These conditions share similar symptoms with bronchial asthma.
Common Bronchial Asthma Symptoms
If you’re trying to describe what it’s like to have asthma, just think of the Straw Challenge.
Signs of an asthma attack include:
- Chest pain-like a panda is sitting on you
- Chest tightness-like the panda won’t get off to let you breathe properly
- Reduced peak flow of air on inhaling and exhaling
- Characteristic wheezing and whistling sound caused by restricted airways
They tend to be worse in the early morning hours or at night before bed.
Asthma vs COPD
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma are both pulmonary diseases with similar symptoms, which allows for some overlapping of treatment.
But they are not the same disease.
According to doctors, the following characteristics set them apart:
- Different causes;
- Different symptoms;
- Different type of airway inflammation;
- Different inflammatory cells;
- Different mediator cells to regulate symptoms;
- Different consequences of inflammation;
- Different response to therapy;
- Different course of progression (2).
They can coexist together and are difficult to differentiate. Your doctor will likely use a pulmonary function test to
Common Adult Asthma Risk Factors and Asthma Triggers
Gene-environment interactions trigger asthma, so you have to consider both groups of risk factors for developing the condition as an adult.
Risk factors include:
- A family history of asthma (there’s the “gene” part)
- Childhood respiratory infections
- Childhood exposure to air pollution
- Inhaling your own cigarette smoke or second-hand smoke as a teen or child
- A sedentary job or lifestyle
Inhaling polluted air also acts as a trigger when you’re an adult. Other triggers include:
- Food additives (one thing you’ll never have to worry about with GLX3)
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
- Certain beta-blockers used to treat heart conditions
- Cold air (especially when exercising) (3)
Natural Asthma Management and Treatment
Bronchial asthma isn’t curable-yet.
For now, most asthma treatments involve the use of oral asthma medications like inhaled corticosteroids delivered by an inhaler.
But studies suggest these drugs may produce unwanted side effects like impaired growth in children, decreased bone mineral density, skin thinning and bruising, and cataracts (4)-extra conditions you do not want to deal with.
Instead, opt for these natural fixes:
- Reduce stress – Asthma symptoms increased in patients with psychological stress (5).
- Add a natural anti-inflammatory to your diet
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- Green lipped mussel oil helps to fight inflammation in the lungs. In fact, a randomized clinical trial found just 50 mg of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and 100 mg of olive oil resulted in “significant decrease in daytime wheeze, the concentration of exhaled H2O2 and an increase in morning peak expiratory flow (PEF) in the lipid extract group compared to the placebo group” (6) without any side effects.
- GLX3 contains twice the amount of both green lipped mussel oil and pure New Zealand Olive Oil for a more effective natural remedy.
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- Reduce irritants in your home and work environment
- These are the two places you spend the most time. Make sure you’re not exposing yourself to dust mites by giving your living and working spaces a thorough clean, and install AC or heating units with proper ventilation.
Conclusion: Beat Your Bronchial Asthma Symptoms
Asthma attacks often occur suddenly and without warning. They’re frightening to experience.
At GLX3, we want your life experiences to take your breath away-not your bronchial asthma.
With simple changes like adding low-impact exercise, supplementing with green lipped mussel omega-3s, and reducing irritants at home and at work, you can do your part to prevent future asthma attacks today.
