14 Ways to Prevent Shortness of Breath

Shortness of breath is very torturous and it makes a person to have difficulty in breathing. The cause of shortness in breathing comes from internal factors and external factors. So, the question is how to prevent shortness of breath to happen?

There are a lot of factors that cause shortness of breath, but there are also many ways that can be done as a treatment or as a prevention of this breathing condition. Some of the ways that can be done to avoid shortness of breath is as follows:

1. Exercise Regularly

Exercise regularly will help the lungs to work better; if the lungs are healthy then the body will also be healthy. A healthy lung will also make you breathe normally. Thus, make sure to spend at least 30 minutes of your time a day to exercise.

2. Breathe Fresh Air

Inhaling fresh air especially in the morning will help the body to breathe cleaner oxygen and you can feel it immediately that you can take a breath more easily in the morning.

That being said, try to wake up early and take a good fresh air at the balcony while having some coffee or you can sit on a chair in front of your house to enjoy the morning.

3. Adjust Your Diet

Adjusting your diet is also good to prevent shortness of breath. Eating bad foods continuously would not be good for your body and it might affect your breathing. Thus, it is better to pay attention to what you eat as well as the time you eat and how much food you should eat.

Eating food correctly and on the right time is highly encouraged because it will help you from getting any kind of sickness, shortness of breath included.

Also read: Dangerous Fruits for Diabetes 

4. Drink Plenty of Water

Water is beneficial to increase our body fluids and keep it in stable state. Lacking of water in the body or dehydration could also be the cause of difficult in breathing. It is because one of the causes of difficult breathing is Tuberculosis.

This lung condition happens when the lung mucus is too much or too thick, and as a result the patient could have breathlessness. Therefore, make sure to drink a lot of water and for those who have tuberculosis, do not forget to take your medicine and do a routine medical check up.

5. Go to the Beach

Sometimes, you feel suffocated because of your daily routines and stress. As a result, you could suddenly feel like you could not breathe properly even though you have no history of having the said condition before.

If it happens, maybe it is a sign that you need to take a break and go to some places to relax your body and mind, a beach is one of the options you can choose. It is because beach can be used as a place of therapy for people with asthma. When a person has asthma, usually in the morning they will go to the beach more often to get fresh air.

6. Set the Way of Breathing

Regulating the occasional breathing method is also necessary to prevent shortness of breath and respiratory system. These are some of the solutions that you can try when you feel short of breath:

• Put a pillow under your head and lie down comfortably, then bend your knees and relax your stomach.
• Put one hand on the abdomen and the other on the chest.
• Press the abdomen with your hand and put the other hand on your chest.
• Once everything is ready then start breathing slowly, use your abdominal muscles to breathe.
• Do this over and over until the body feels better.

7. Yoga

Yoga is also useful for regulating your breathe. In addition, yoga is also the easiest sport and it will make your body relax. After doing yoga, you will feel easier to breathe and also calm. Similarly, with breathing, if the body is calm then the breathing will also be calm so that it will obtain the optimal oxygen.

8. Avoid Smoking

Cigarettes contain lots of nicotine. Nicotine is one of the substances that can damage the lungs. With the presence of a lot of nicotine and any other dangerous chemicals than can be found in the cigarettes and the smoke, those who smoke and even do not smoke but exposed to the smoke, are at risk of having difficulty in breathing or other respiratory conditions.

For that, people who do not smoke need to avoid cigarette smoke as best as they can and smoker need to at least limit their smoking intake and do not smoke in front of non-smoker.

9. Avoid Air Pollution

Sometimes, heavy air pollution also makes us to have difficulty in breathing. There are a lot of bad chemicals in the air that can be dangerous for our health, especially our respiratory system.

That being said, always carries a mask when you go outside or travel and use it when you feel like you need it to prevent you from breathing unhealthy air.

10. Avoid Foods that Trigger Your Allergy

One of the cause of shortness of breath is allergy. A lot of people have an allergy to certain foods such as shrimp, fish, crab, dairy products, nuts, lactose, etc.

Thus, if you have an allergy of one of those foods or other food and you tend to experience breathlessness when your allergy kicks in, try to avoid eating them or at least know your limit because you could put yourself in danger.

You might want to read: Dangers of Peanuts for Health 

11. Avoid Cat Fur or Other Feathers

Some kind of viruses could live in animal feathers or fur, and if the virus goes into your body it could be dangerous, especially those who have allergy. Viruses that exist in the fur of cats or other animals can make your lungs get infected which could result in difficult breathing.

Therefore, if you want to play with a cat or have a cat as a pet, make sure to always clean the surrounding and take care of your pet very carefully so that its feathers or fur will not be in the air that your breathe.

12. Set Nap time

Sleeping too long can cause the breath to become congested. This is because napping for too long means letting your lungs in your body to not get a lot of oxygen intake. Thus, set a timer if you want to nap, try to not nap for more than 2 hours.

13. Control Your Emotions

Controlling emotions is also needed to maintain a healthy body. Controlling the emotion means to let the body and mind to stay calm. It will help the body to obtain oxygen more easily from the environment. Therefore, if you are in a bad mood, try to control your breathing.

14. Consume Herbs

Eating herbs is one of the alternative treatments that can be used to treat shortness of breath or even as a form of prevention against shortness of breath attacks. The ingredients that can be used as herbal medicine to drink, among others are:

• Cinnamon. Cinnamon can be used as a daily herbal medicine. Basically, cinnamon contains substances that prevent the causes of shortness of breath. How to use cinnamon: choose a good cinnamon, then cut it in pieces but not too small, boil the cinnamon, then drink the water.
• Honey. In addition to the sweet taste, honey also has a good function and benefits, namely to eliminate shortness of breath or for how to prevent shortness of breath. Use honey as sweetener for your tea or any other foods and beverages.
  
  
• Betel leaf. Betel leaves is useful to prevent and treat shortness of breath. This betel leaf can be used as herbal medicine. How to use : choose fresh betel leaf, wash the betel leaf until clean, put the betel leaf into the pot or container to boil it, receded at least to 1 glass of water, then drink it.
• Garlic. In addition to food seasonings, garlic can also be used as a natural treatment for shortness of breath and it is also very easy to find. How to use: take and peel some garlic, then wash until clean, then sliced ​​garlic thin, then prepare the soy sauce, eat the garlic slices with soy sauce.
• Ylang Flower. Ylang flower is also good to treat difficult breathing. How to use it: to grab ylang flower at least 1/2 handheld, add 1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar, and 1 cup water to boil it, boil ylang flower with 1 cup of water until it contained 1/2 cup water, filter the herb, it can be directly consumed after it cool down.
• Kaempferia Galanga. Not only useful for beauty, this herb can also be used for shortness of breath. How to use: you can eat it raw or add sweetener like honey to taste and you can also drink the boiled water of Kaempferia galanga.
• Black Cumin. How to use: mash the black cumin until smooth, use honey as a complement, and drink black cumin while still warm.

Those are some ways that can be used as a means to prevent the onset of shortness of breath. In addition, do not forget to always apply a healthy way of life and set the diet with healthy food.

Also read: Ways to Break Up Mucus in Throat