Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 3: Identify Asthma Triggers
• Part 2 of 3: Take care of your comfort
• Part 3 of 3: Taking Medication

Many people are familiar with asthma symptoms such as chest tightness and shortness of breath. Cough is another unpleasant symptom in asthma, an inflammatory condition of the airways that causes them to narrow. To stop an asthma cough, recognize and avoid asthma triggers, take asthma medications, and make yourself more comfortable.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Identify Asthma Triggers

1. 1 Learn about common triggers. Many substances can cause coughing, both allergens (dust, animal dander, cockroaches, mold, pollen) and irritants (mists, cigarette smoke, polluted air or cosmetics). In addition, asthma attacks are often triggered by the following:
   • medicines such as aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, as well as non-selective beta-blockers (they are often used for heart disease);
   • food preservatives: they often contain sulfites;
   • an upper respiratory tract infection, such as the common cold or viral lung infection;
   • sports and other types of physical activity;
   • cold or dry air;
   • other health problems: heartburn (acid reflux), stress or sleep apnea.
2. 2 Keep a journal to help you identify unknown triggers. After a coughing fit, ask yourself what might have caused it. If you find it difficult to explain your cough as one of the common causes, consider if something else might have caused it. Keep a diary and write down daily entries in it to help you identify the factors that immediately precede coughing attacks. Ask yourself the following questions:
   • Has the season changed? Are asthma attacks triggered by environmental factors?
   • Have you built a new industrial facility near you that can release harmful substances into the air?
   • Have you included new foods in your diet? Have you started taking new medications that interact with asthma medications?
   • Have there been any abrupt changes in the weather? Maybe the warm weather suddenly gave way to cold and dampness? Is it windy or the wind has recently changed its direction? The wind can bring along new allergens and irritants.
3. 3 Get tested for allergies to certain foods. If you suspect your asthma cough is caused by a food allergy, do not cut out those foods in your diet, as doing so can lead to a lack of certain nutrients. Instead, talk to your doctor about getting a skin scarification test to check for food allergies. Your doctor may then recommend ways to prevent the allergic reaction. Often, food allergies are caused by the following substances and products:
   • gluten (gluten), which is found in all wheat products;
   • casein (a protein found in dairy products);
   • eggs;
   • citrus;
   • fish and shellfish;
   • peanut.
4. 4 Monitor your lungs. If you are having difficulty identifying triggers for asthma, talk with your doctor about monitoring your maximum expiratory flow rate using a small handheld device (peak flow meter). This way you can determine how efficiently your lungs are breathing out air. When the airway narrows, the maximum expiratory flow rate decreases. Checking your exhalation rate regularly and writing down what you did and what you ate in your diary will help you and your doctor identify triggers for asthma.
   • Lung function quantification is especially useful when triggers do not cause an immediate coughing fit. Sometimes there is some time between the exposure to the relevant factors and the asthma attack.

Part 2 of 3: Take care of your comfort

1. 1 Drink plenty of water. To keep the mucus in your throat loosened, drink 6-8 glasses (1.5-2 liters) of water a day. If you have a dry cough that doesn't produce phlegm, you need to stay hydrated to prevent the cough from irritating your throat. This is especially important if a cold or flu is causing asthma symptoms.
   • Drink more fluids if you cough up yellow or green phlegm.
2. 2 Purify the air. Try to keep the air in your home as clean as possible. Check your air filters and keep cigarette smoke out of your home. Since smoke often triggers asthma attacks, ask those around you not to smoke around you. Hair spray and perfume should also be avoided.
   • Since pollen can also trigger an asthma attack, consider using an air conditioner during the flowering period. Clean the ventilation windows regularly to keep out dust and mold.
   • Consider using a humidifier or placing bowls of water around the house. This will increase the humidity in the air and make breathing easier.
3. 3 Relax. Try not to breathe deeply during an asthma attack. Some doctors find that deep breathing irritates the airways even more. Instead, slowly inhale air through your nose and make sure that inhalation and exhalation take the same amount of time. For example, as you inhale, count to 8, hold your breath for a long time, and then exhale for a count of 8. At the same time, try to calm down and relax.
   • Although the oxygen supply will decrease slightly during this exercise, it will remain approximately the same as when coughing. Controlling your breathing with counting can help alleviate coughs and other asthma symptoms.
4. 4 Try yoga breathing exercises. Asthma coughing fits can lead to panic and loss of control. Try to calm down and normalize your breathing: Take a relaxing breathing yoga pose. Lie on your back and bend your knees so that your feet remain on the bed. Place your hands on your stomach and place a pillow under your head for comfort.Close your eyes and draw in your stomach with each exhalation.
   • The purpose of this exercise is to relax your breathing and thereby ease your cough. Breathe slowly and try to distract yourself from disturbing thoughts and calm your mind.
5. 5 Try to get rid of unpleasant conditions. Although negative emotions do not directly trigger asthma attacks, they can alter the rate and rhythm of breathing and thus contribute to an asthma attack. Severe anxiety, crying, or screaming can negatively affect breathing and trigger an asthma attack. Even emotional stress caused by a coughing fit can worsen symptoms. Learning to deal with stress and anxiety can help you overcome asthma attacks.

Part 3 of 3: Taking Medication

1. 1 Make a treatment plan with your doctor. Your doctor can help you develop a written action plan for an asthma attack or cough. This plan should be a list of steps you need to follow to normalize your breathing. In addition, it should contain the telephone numbers for emergency services and other necessary medical services.
   • Your doctor will explain the differences between the green, yellow, and red plan points. Each of these sections lists typical symptoms, recommended drugs and treatments, and the closest places to get qualified medical attention.
2. 2 Control asthma with short-term medications. For coughing fits, you may be advised to use an inhaler. The inhaler is intended for the rapid introduction of drugs (for example, short-acting beta-adrenergic agonists) into the airways in order to expand them. Your doctor may prescribe salbutamol, levosalbutamol, pirbuterol, ipratropium, or corticosteroids.
   • To use the inhaler, shake it. It is enough to shake the inhaler well 3-4 times. After that, remove the lid from the inhaler and exhale the air from your lungs.
   • Insert the mouthpiece of the inhaler into your mouth and take a slow breath. Press once on the cap of the inhaler and continue to inhale slowly.
   • Remove the inhaler mouthpiece from your mouth. Hold your breath for 10 seconds, then exhale the air.
3. 3 Use long-term medications for asthma. These drugs are taken daily and can help prevent coughs and other asthma symptoms. They do not lead to immediate relief (inhaler and other short-term remedies should be used for this). However, long-term medications can reduce inflammation, widen the airways, and reduce the body's response to various triggers. You can also take allergy medications if your asthma attacks are triggered by allergies. For the treatment of asthma, the following drugs are used with a long lasting effect:
   • allergy vaccinations;
   • inhalation of corticosteroids such as fluticasone, budesonide, ciclesonide, beclomethasone and mometasone;
   • anti-inflammatory drugs such as cromolyn;
   • long-acting beta-agonists such as salmeterol and formoterol;
   • biologics such as omalizumab and leukotriene modulators;
   • theophylline.
4. 4 Seek emergency medical attention. For asthmatic coughs, you need to know when to seek medical attention. In addition to coughing, wheezing is another sign that asthma worsens. Air has difficulty passing through the respiratory tract, which causes wheezing and high wheezing. Typically, wheezing sounds accompany exhalation, although sometimes they are audible when inhaling. Call your doctor right away if you need more medication, your cough and other symptoms worsen, you find it difficult to breathe while talking, or your peak flow meter expiratory flow is only 50–80% of your best result. You should go to the emergency room if you have any of the following symptoms:
   • drowsiness, confusion;
   • severe difficulty breathing at rest;
   • the maximum expiratory flow does not exceed 50% of your best result;
   • severe chest pain;
   • blue lips and facial skin;
   • extremely labored breathing;
   • rapid pulse;
   • severe anxiety due to shortness of breath.