What’s the Best Medicine for Your Asthma?

Most recently updated July 7th, 2023

Estimated Reading Time: 17 minutes

If you or your children are asthmatic,  you’ve probably spent a lot of time looking for the best medicine for your asthma.

Or maybe looking for better asthma treatments, if you’ve already been prescribed something. 

The Ledge trail at Pilot Mountain

If you’ve read some of my other posts, you know that I’ve had asthma and have been fighting it my whole life, with both medical and non-medical tools.

In the U.S., asthma affects more than 25 million people.

There is no cure, but some people do “grow out” of it (meaning you don’t have obvious symptoms), and medical drugs are available that treat the symptoms for those that have them.  

I didn’t grow out of it, and from childhood through young adulthood, my parents tried all available medical options to make my illness better.

But in spite of allergy shots and prescribed inhalers and pills, my asthma got worse every year. 

Pine pollen is a huge problem in the South

Finally, as a young adult, I had an epic attack that led to complete respiratory failure and several days unconscious on a ventilator.

When I woke up, the doctors just told me to take more medicine and stay in a controlled environment.

That’s when I became very pro-active in my search for better treatments and lifestyle choices to reduce my asthma symptoms and prevent future severe attacks.

Author happily viewing the Canyon for the first time!
Author happily viewing Bryce Canyon for the first time!

I’ve had some success 🙂

In this post I tell you about the prescribed medical options available now, and the ones I’ve used – and mostly still use – that appear to help my chronic asthma.

For inspiration I’m also sharing photos of beautiful places I’ve been able to hike, without any trouble breathing!

Continue reading What’s the Best Medicine for Your Asthma?

Eat to Breathe Easier – What is the Best Food for Asthma?

Most recently updated July 7th, 2023

The best food for asthma – or any kind of diet – is healthy food that you want to eat and keep eating for a lifetime!

Even when you know what foods to avoid, it’s hard to always stick with it, especially at family events and Holiday gatherings.

I’ve been looking for the best food for asthma and perfecting my own anti asthma diet for a long time – and my own strategies for being social and still sticking to foods that are good for me.

My earliest memory is being inside an oxygen tent when I was a toddler.  (I’m in my 50’s now.) 

That’s a lot  of years’ living with the disease and learning what kind of diet and exercise helps.

Relaxing on a picnic break during a hike in the Mont Blanc range. 
A picnic break during a hike in the Mont Blanc range.

Through research and trial and error, I’ve created a diet that helps me breathe easier.

Over time, thanks in part to my diet,  I’ve gone from being a medicated Bubble Girl who couldn’t take a deep breath to a 50- something year old woman who does alpine hiking and leads weekly 6-12 mile hikes.

If you’re looking for additional (non-medical)  ways to minimize or even eliminate asthma symptoms, this diet could help you, too.

The photos in this post highlight some amazing places I’ve been able to hike in spite of severe chronic asthma.   Diet and exercise does make a difference 🙂  Continue reading Eat to Breathe Easier – What is the Best Food for Asthma?