how to find out Asthma triggers and how to control/manage my asthma

Hello Everyone,
I'm new on this forum and new with asthma too. My asthma has been diagnosed last last year. I'm completely blank on how to manage it. I cough all the time and wheeze all the time. Salbutamol inhaler does not help me, it helps only for 20 minutes. So in order to relax my airways, i take fostair inhaler with active ingredients Beclometasone and formoterol. Fostair has Corticosteroids, so it helps. I take fostair when i feel extremly congested. I wake up every morning wheezing. My cough is dry, i barely cough phlegm. My phlegm looks thread or string like. I try very hard to cough phlegm, i feel i have it inside but i can't take it out. I have done antibiotic course thrice with prednisolone, which helps 3 to 4 weeks and symptoms are back again.

Please tell me how do i find out my asthma triggers, only thing i have found is that i get asthma attack when i exercise or swim. But thats not enough, i have other triggers which i can't find out. Please help me how to control it, foods to avoid, any precautions, anything that can help!


Additional information:
I'm 23 years old female, i live in a humid climate, i cough indoors as well as outdoors, my house is not carpeted, i don't consume cold drinks or cold water, my maid cleans the house daily i.e dusting , mopping is done on daily basis. I don't smoke nor does anyone in my house.
Moreover when i sleep i feel my breathing from nose is getting blocked. I don't experience any headache or pressure on face. Sometimes I feel my noes is just blocked , no runny noes nothing, just blocked

Post Edited (Anusha Kazi) : 12/23/2013 5:45:50 AM (GMT-7)

Have you had allergy testing done?

If you have exercise induced asthma, the best advice is to use your rescue inhaler (salbutamol) a few minutes before beginning your exercise.

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50 yrs old, IBD diagnosis in spring '01. Proctitis, gastritis, ileitis.
Currently taking Pentasa (3g/day)generic Colazal (96 pills/day), Sulfazine (1.5 g/day), Prevacid, folic acid, vit. D (2K iu), flax seed oil (2 tsp/day), psyllium (1/2T daily), mesalamine enema as needed. Gluten free as of 5/30/11. Colonoscopy found no evidence of inflammation on 8/16/1

Greetings Anusha.

This might be another case for keeping a journal. I often post about keeping a food journal for people with food triggers. Keeping track of everything you do and your reactions might help you figure out what your triggers are.

I would write down foods and drinks and medicines in addition to activities. It's possible that foods can trigger attacks in addition to exercising. Write down the time, as you want to know how long after the trigger you get a reaction.

Where I am, students often find that they are free of most asthma attacks during swim team season. Does the pool you use have anything besides chlorine for disinfection? The warm water seems to clear our sinuses. Of course swim team members are swimming every day, and that might make a difference.

I use a saline rinse most days to clear my sinuses. Just be sure to use distilled or boiled water, as you can get a serious amoeba infection from tap water, even if it is treated.

Can you get some "Breathe Right Strips?" They might keep your nasal passages open enough to let you sleep.

PS:

Is the maid's mop disinfected daily? She might be spreading germs.
As I taught my helpers, "The secret to a clean floor is a clean mop."

Thank you Alcie,
I'm grateful to your for guiding me. Thank you so much Alcie. I'll surely keep a journal and note down what is effecting me and how. I'm so frustrated with breathing issues that i have quit gym and swimming now. Well i still take steam bath seldom.

I did go to an ENT specialist for my sinus, he said that i should get a sinus surgery. asked a lot of people and I read a lot about it, most of them said it will grow back in a year or two and not much help. I decided not to get it operated and i don't have any pain or severe irritation.

I'll surely get Breath right strips and will surely look into the hygiene of the mop.

And oh btw I forgot to mention that i did keep a persian cat last year, and i used to kiss it a lot! My cat used to sleep on my bed, but due to my breathing issues getting worse day by day, my mother gave it away 3 months back. And i don't feel i got any better after kicking the poor cat out of my house.

Hey kezbrn, I don't know what allergy tests i should get done. I did have IgE test, which came positive. It only tells that i'm allergic to something. but does not tell "what" i'm allergic to.

As far as exercise is concerned , i have stopped it. Walking fast or climbing few stairs can also triggers bad cough. but exercise is not the issue, the issue is the unidentified other reasons.

An allergist should do an entire skin panel on you. They inject very small amounts of common allergens under your skin and see how you react. The only requirement is that you don't take any allergy medicine for the day or few days before the test. It doesn't hurt but it can get pretty itchy as your skin will get bumps of bigger or smaller sizes depending on your allergies.

This kind of testing can help you pinpoint things like seasonal allergies or common home irritants. Then you can focus on specific changes you can make in your lifestyle or allergy meds you can take.

Have you done the saline sinus wash that Alcie recommends? It will really help. And you should consider putting a humidifier in your room to keep your sinuses from drying out. And drink a LOT of water every day to keep your mucous wet.

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50 yrs old, IBD diagnosis in spring '01. Proctitis, gastritis, ileitis.
Currently taking Pentasa (3g/day)generic Colazal (96 pills/day), Sulfazine (1.5 g/day), Prevacid, folic acid, vit. D (2K iu), flax seed oil (2 tsp/day), psyllium (1/2T daily), mesalamine enema as needed. Gluten free as of 5/30/11. Colonoscopy found no evidence of inflammation on 8/16/1

Thank you so much Kazbern. You know i did go to a Dr for patch test. He was constantly asking me about eczema, skin dryness, family history regarding skin issues. And i was like Dr I'm here for asthma, i have NO skin issues! In the prescription he wrote use dove or pears soap and come for patch test 3 days later. I felt probably this test is not relevant for me, so i just didn't go.

Well I think I'll go for the patch test.
!
I'll go in a day to two and buy saline sinus wash and breathing strips. I'm so happy to hear that there are things that can help my sinus. I never wanted a surgery.

3 days later i have an appointment with a Dr. I'll consult with him also.

I'll increase water and fresh juice consumption. But i guess humidifier is not a very good idea. My climate is extremely humid already. I live near sea.

Anyway thanks a lot kezbern!=)