The month of May is Asthma Awareness Month; this disease affects seven percent of the United States population and a total of 300 million people worldwide. It causes 4,000 deaths a year in the United States alone. Asthma is an extremely common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, airflow obstruction and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, cough, chest tightness and shortness of breath. Increasingly this disease is becoming more prevalent in urban environments, affecting up to one quarter of urban children.

Asthma is clinically classified according to the frequency of symptoms and an attack can be attributed to many environmental asthma triggers as well as genetic factors. Some of the most common asthma triggers include secondhand smoke, dust mites, mold, cockroaches and other pests, household pets and combustion byproducts. Since Americans spend up to 90 percent of their time indoors, especially in more urban environments it is no surprise this disease is on the rise.

Management of asthma and asthma symptoms can be as easy for some as avoiding triggers of the attacks or as serious as allergy immunotherapy. Medications are available to try to suppress attacks due to inflammation. The only preventative way to control asthma is allergen immunotherapy, which is dangerous in severe asthma patients and in uncontrolled asthma and this only decreases asthma attacks by half.  Therefore the only real way to control this disease is trigger avoidance.

Avoiding the things that contribute to asthma attacks can prove difficult in everyday life. Some tips to avoid allergens and lessen attacks are:

• Increase levels of ventilation in both work and home and cold, dry air tend to exacerbate attacks. Purchase an air humidifier for the rooms that you reside in most
• Proactively monitor and manage symptoms, create a list of allergens and do your best to avoid scenarios that expose you to them
• Have a personal medical record that clearly states you have asthma therefore if you suffer an attack emergency personnel will know how to treat you
• Write down your treatment plan. Consult with your doctor and adjust your plan as your symptoms change
• Discuss medication options with your doctor and include this information in your personal medical record
• Discuss your treatment plan with your close friends and family so they can help you in the event of an attack

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America also has information on their site that expands on these tips. Asthma isn’t curable but it is controllable. Learn as much as possible about your symptoms and be your own medical advocate.