Dr Mercy Luka, a family physician, has advised asthma patients to refrain from strenuous activities and avoid habits that will trigger sudden attack.
Luka gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja.
She defined asthma as chronic disease that affects the airways in human lungs, stressing that extra care must be taken to prevent attacks.
According to her, asthma is a long term disease that has no cure but can be controlled.
She said “when someone has asthma attack, the airways become inflamed and extremely sensitive to irritations.
“The patient will then experience shortness of breath, cough, wheezing and chest tightness.”
She added that polluted environment, hazy weather condition, among other environmental hazards, could increase the probability of asthma attack.
She explained that allergies, as well as family history with strong genetic component for asthma, also contribute to asthma attacks.
Luka said strenuous exercises and other activities should be avoided, noting that such could lead to shortness of breath to patient.
The physician added that another aspect of asthma attack that people often times ignore was psychology as causative factor.
According to her, emotional outbursts, sudden break of bad news, among other psychological factors, contribute significantly to asthma attack.
She advised patients to understand the many asthma triggers to avoid or decrease frequency of attacks, stressing that children who were suffering from the condition must be kept warm at all times with head covers and stockings.
She said doctors could help patients to treat other conditions that could interfere with asthma management, such as coughing and shortness of breath.