What can my boyfriend do to breathe...

[whoopsidaisy]

...better? (Has asthma)? My boyfriend has asthma but usually it does not act up unless he does something such as cutting the grass. Today he cut the grass and he is having trouble breathing. He does not have an inhaler and usually it gets better within a few days. Is there anything (besides an inhaler and medicine...he already took meds) he can do to breathe better?

[Anita G]

Try taking a hot shower as the hot steam will help the breathing

[grrluknow]

Drink a cup of hot coffee (not decaf). That helps my husband.

[El Griton]

Give him mouth to mouth. It won't help his condition but I am sure he'll appreciate it;)

[sunshinedtm4747]

I have asthma and this probably isn't an option, but I moved to Montana (for personal reasons, not the asthma) and the air is so much clearer up here and my asthma is better. Elevation helps. Other than that, put a humidifier in your bedroom and I heard that Coffee (the caffeine) can help. Good luck

[superwow_rl]

since you mentioned it gets worse when he cuts the grass, he may want to ask his doctor about allergic asthma. it could be that he has outdoor allergies (like i do) which cause his asthma to act up (in my case, my allergies actually caused me to develop asthma). they can probably put your boyfriend on an allergy medication, like singulair, that will inhibit his allergies from causing his asthma to act up. it has really no side effects ( at least for me).hope this helps! =D

[gabiace]

Yeah it sounds like allergic asthma. Allergy shots and antihistamines will help the allergy in the long run, but short term try sitting him on a chair, having him put his hands on his knees and lean foward, breathing slowly and steadily, ensuring that he breathes out as strongly as he can. What most people don't understand is that asthma is not a condition caused by an inability to breathe in, it is caused by an inability to breathe out. When an attack is triggered, the bronchioles swell up, preventing carbon dioxide-laden air from leaving the lungs, causing a build up of it in the blood which leads to unconsciousness. By leaning over and compressing the lungs, the carbon dioxide is forced out of the lungs, allowing oxygen to get in. But always, an inhaler is necessary, but that is what one should do if one doesn't have an inhaler with them.