Following the thunderstorm asthma catastrophe in Melbourne, here are some quick tips about thunderstorm asthma, pollen and other triggers, and how to try to prevent it.
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Damp, gas stoves and asthma
Household contributors to asthma often go unnoticed, but damp and gas cookers are two to be aware of.
Video: Does breathing retraining help asthma?
Do breathing retraining programs improve asthma outcomes? Most people with asthma rely on drugs to control their symptoms, but can breathing retraining help as well?
Asthma and smoking
Smoking and asthma do not combine well. Tobacco smoke harms the airways of both smokers and those exposed to environmental tobacco smoke.
Asthma overview
Both children and adults get asthma, and while there is no cure, most people are able to control their symptoms by avoiding their triggers and taking medicines.
Asthma treatments
Asthma treatment involves working with your doctor to create an asthma management plan, taking asthma medicines as needed, avoiding asthma triggers where possible and following lifestyle advice.
Asthma: reliever medications
Asthma reliever medicines work as bronchodilators – they relax the muscle around your airways, making the passages themselves wider.
Asthma and pollen
Find out how pollen affects asthma, which plants typically cause allergies and how to minimise your exposure to pollen.
Buteyko breathing for asthma
The Buteyko breathing method focusses on the rhythm and rate of breathing, aiming to slow down breathing rate and regulate rhythm. Breathing through the nose, rather than the mouth, may also help improve asthma symptoms.
Asthma: preventer medications
Preventers are anti-inflammatory medicines. They make your airways less sensitive and help keep your airways open so that you have less chance of having an asthma attack, or flare-up.
