Adults can get asthma, too, even older adults. This might sound weird at first, but after a lifetime of being exposed to pollution and other irritants, your senior’s lungs might not be able to keep up as well. If your elderly family member has asthma, there are some things you might want to consider to help her to enjoy her life a little more.
Seek out Any Damp Areas and Fix Them
Dampness is not great for anyone, but it’s especially harmful for people who have asthma. That’s because damp areas are a great place for things like mold and mildew to grow. Mold and mildew send off spores, and those end up in your senior’s airways, irritating them and triggering asthma attacks. If you suspect that there are any damp, moldy areas in your senior’s home it’s better to tackle those as soon as possible than it is to wait.
Encourage Her to Exercise According to Her Doctor’s Recommendations
A common misconception is that people with asthma can’t exercise or it will trigger their asthma. That might be true for some people, but exercise helps to strengthen your senior’s lungs. As long as she’s sticking to exercise that falls within her doctor’s recommendations, your senior should be just fine to exercise. It can help her to feel stronger and it may eve reduce the amount of asthma attacks she has.
Consider Running the Air Conditioner More Often
The air conditioner does a lot. Most people just stop at the cooler air, which is a plus in hot weather, but it helps to understand what conditioning the air means. There are multiple filters within air conditioners, particularly central air conditioners. That means that when they run, they remove a lot of particles from the air. Cooler air is also a little easier to breathe, because it’s less humid. It might help to try running it for various periods of time and see how your senior feels about her breathing during those times.
Keep the House Dust Free
Dust is a huge culprit with asthma, of course, so it’s important to do what you can to keep your senior’s house as free of dust as you can. That means bumping up her cleaning schedule, which might be difficult for your elderly family member to manage on her own. It can help a lot to bring in elder care providers to take over light household cleaning tasks for your senior on a regular basis. Doing it more often can help to reduce dust overall.
There may be some other tips that your senior’s doctor recommends for her. Finding the right combination can greatly improve her experience with asthma.
If you or an aging loved one are considering elder care in Escondido, CA, please contact the caring staff at Innovative Healthcare Consultants today. Call us at (760) 731-1334.
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