{"id":11012,"date":"2020-09-21T15:53:19","date_gmt":"2020-09-21T20:53:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/blog\/?p=11012"},"modified":"2022-04-14T10:31:56","modified_gmt":"2022-04-14T15:31:56","slug":"having-asthma-issues-dont-panic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/having-asthma-issues-dont-panic\/","title":{"rendered":"Having asthma issues? Don\u2019t panic"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you have asthma, the fear of triggering an asthma attack can be a burden. But you don\u2019t have to live in fear of oncoming asthma attacks or other breathing difficulties. In fact, you can help prepare yourself with a couple simple deep breathing exercises, according to Bhagat Aulakh, MD<\/a>, a respiratory specialist with\u00a0OSF Medical Group \u2013 Lung & Pulmonology<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about focusing on slower, deeper breathing,\u201d Dr. Aulakh said. \u201cFocus on slowing down, relaxing and taking a deep breath \u2013 the things that can be hard to do when you\u2019re panicked because you can\u2019t breathe. When you\u2019re panicked, you start breathing fast and it gets worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pursed lip breathing<\/h2>\n

\u201cYou take a deep breath and rather than blow out all the air at once, you purse your lips to slow the flow of exhaling air,\u201d Dr. Aulakh said. \u201cIt holds air pressure in your lungs longer, helping condition them to perform more efficiently and effectively.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what you do:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Take a deep breath in through your nose.<\/li>\n
  2. Purse your lips and breathe out through your mouth for twice as long as you breathed in.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Diaphragmic breathing<\/h2>\n

    \u201cIf you can re-center your focus to taking slow deep breaths into your belly, holding and releasing slowly, it can be really helpful,\u201d Dr. Aulakh said.<\/p>\n

    Here\u2019s what you do:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Slowly take in deep breaths through your nose, with longer exhales through your mouth.<\/li>\n
    2. Rather than using your chest, use your belly. Watch it rise and fall as your belly draws air in and out.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Keep at it<\/h2>\n

      These deep breathing practices can prove to be helpful if you feel like an asthma attack<\/a> may be coming on, Dr. Aulakh said, but by doing them regularly, they can also help prevent breathing issues from happening.<\/p>\n

      Like any skill, deep breathing takes practice to master and to train your body. Dr. Aulakh suggests practicing these techniques for five or 10 minutes every day.<\/p>\n

      The American Lung Institute<\/a> has more helpful tips for these exercises and instructional videos to help.<\/p>\n

      What more you can do<\/span><\/h2>\n

      In general, two of the biggest things you can do to help with your asthma are to stay active and keep your weight down, Dr. Aulakh said.<\/p>\n

      \u201cStaying active is the best thing you can do for asthma,\u201d he said. \u201cJust be sure to pick the right times to exercise. Avoid the outdoors when it\u2019s too hot or if there\u2019s high pollen or high humidity.\u201d<\/p>\n

      Pulmonary rehabilitation therapists, like OSF Rehabilitation<\/a> experts Dr. Aulakh works with regularly in Peoria, are also a great resource. They can help you learn and practice helpful exercises. Speak with a pulmonologist<\/a> about your options, and whether pulmonary rehab is right for you.<\/p>\n

      Check here<\/a> for more information about asthma, including symptoms and safety tips.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      For asthma sufferers, a series of focused, deep breathing exercises may be a helpful way to prepare for an upcoming attack.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":11016,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[733],"tags":[966,756],"coauthors":[692],"class_list":["post-11012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lung-respiratory-health","tag-asthma","tag-osf-medical-group"],"yoast_head":"\nHaving asthma issues? Don\u2019t panic | OSF HealthCare<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For asthma sufferers, a series of focused, deep breathing exercises may be a helpful way to prepare for an upcoming attack.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/having-asthma-issues-dont-panic\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Having asthma issues? Don\u2019t panic\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A series of focused, deep breathing exercises may be a helpful way to prepare for an upcoming asthma attack.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/having-asthma-issues-dont-panic\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"OSF HealthCare Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/osfhealthcare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-09-21T20:53:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-04-14T15:31:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/asthma-exercises-ft.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ken Harris\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Having asthma issues? Don\u2019t panic\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"A series of focused, deep breathing exercises may be a helpful way to prepare for an upcoming asthma attack.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/asthma-exercises-ft.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@osfhealthcare\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@osfhealthcare\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ken Harris\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/having-asthma-issues-dont-panic\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/having-asthma-issues-dont-panic\/\",\"name\":\"Having asthma issues? Don\u2019t panic | OSF HealthCare\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/having-asthma-issues-dont-panic\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/having-asthma-issues-dont-panic\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/asthma-exercises-ft.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-09-21T20:53:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-04-14T15:31:56+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/99db8faf7294806788c8cabb2f164061\"},\"description\":\"For asthma sufferers, a series of focused, deep breathing exercises may be a helpful way to prepare for an upcoming attack.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/having-asthma-issues-dont-panic\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/having-asthma-issues-dont-panic\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/having-asthma-issues-dont-panic\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/asthma-exercises-ft.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/asthma-exercises-ft.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"Young man with asthma practicing breathing exercises.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/having-asthma-issues-dont-panic\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Having asthma issues? Don\u2019t panic\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"OSF HealthCare Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/99db8faf7294806788c8cabb2f164061\",\"name\":\"Ken Harris\",\"description\":\"Ken Harris is the proudest father and was a writing coordinator for the Marketing & Communications division of OSF HealthCare. He has a bachelor's in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and worked as a daily newspaper reporter for four years before leaving the field and eventually finding his way to OSF HealthCare. In his free time, Ken likes reading, fly fishing, hanging out with his dog and generally pestering his lovely, patient wife.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/osfhealthcare.org\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/author\/kharris\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Having asthma issues? Don\u2019t panic | OSF HealthCare","description":"For asthma sufferers, a series of focused, deep breathing exercises may be a helpful way to prepare for an upcoming attack.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/having-asthma-issues-dont-panic\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Having asthma issues? Don\u2019t panic","og_description":"A series of focused, deep breathing exercises may be a helpful way to prepare for an upcoming asthma attack.","og_url":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/having-asthma-issues-dont-panic\/","og_site_name":"OSF HealthCare Blog","article_publisher":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/osfhealthcare","article_published_time":"2020-09-21T20:53:19+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-04-14T15:31:56+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/asthma-exercises-ft.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Ken Harris","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Having asthma issues? Don\u2019t panic","twitter_description":"A series of focused, deep breathing exercises may be a helpful way to prepare for an upcoming asthma attack.","twitter_image":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/asthma-exercises-ft.jpg","twitter_creator":"@osfhealthcare","twitter_site":"@osfhealthcare","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ken Harris","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/having-asthma-issues-dont-panic\/","url":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/having-asthma-issues-dont-panic\/","name":"Having asthma issues? Don\u2019t panic | OSF HealthCare","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/having-asthma-issues-dont-panic\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/having-asthma-issues-dont-panic\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/asthma-exercises-ft.jpg","datePublished":"2020-09-21T20:53:19+00:00","dateModified":"2022-04-14T15:31:56+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/99db8faf7294806788c8cabb2f164061"},"description":"For asthma sufferers, a series of focused, deep breathing exercises may be a helpful way to prepare for an upcoming attack.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/having-asthma-issues-dont-panic\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/having-asthma-issues-dont-panic\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/having-asthma-issues-dont-panic\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/asthma-exercises-ft.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/asthma-exercises-ft.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Young man with asthma practicing breathing exercises."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/having-asthma-issues-dont-panic\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Having asthma issues? Don\u2019t panic"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/","name":"OSF HealthCare Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/99db8faf7294806788c8cabb2f164061","name":"Ken Harris","description":"Ken Harris is the proudest father and was a writing coordinator for the Marketing & Communications division of OSF HealthCare. He has a bachelor's in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and worked as a daily newspaper reporter for four years before leaving the field and eventually finding his way to OSF HealthCare. In his free time, Ken likes reading, fly fishing, hanging out with his dog and generally pestering his lovely, patient wife.","sameAs":["http:\/\/osfhealthcare.org"],"url":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/author\/kharris\/"}]}},"modified_by":null,"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/asthma-exercises-ft.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11012"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11012\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15529,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11012\/revisions\/15529"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11012"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=11012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}