Difficulty breathing - what helps?
Exertion, a past infection or asthma, for example, make you breathe harder and struggle to catch air? Here's what you can do (in addition to seeing your doctor) to make you feel better.
Difficulty breathing: Exhale slowly
As soon as you feel that breathing is starting to become difficult, do not try to take a deep breath, but inhale gently through the nose and exhale through a slightly tilted mouth (as if whistling).
Breathing difficulties: the "coachman" position
Sit down, spread your legs wide, lean forward and rest your forearms on your thighs. This position will help you breathe more freely especially during an attack of shortness of breath caused by asthma.
Breathing difficulties: exercise your breathing muscles and strengthen your lungs
Do this at times when your breathing is normal and you are not suffering from shortness of breath. The easiest way to do this is to breathe in quickly, fully and strongly and then breathe out slowly and for a long time.
Practice twice a day, first for just 1 minute, after 2-3 days for 2 minutes, after a few more for 3 minutes, up to 5 minutes (by gradually increasing the duration of respiratory training, you reduce the risk of hyperventilation).
Breathing difficulties: mineral water
Although you might think that hydration has nothing to do with how we breathe, the opposite is true.
Note: When the epithelium of the respiratory tract is well hydrated, there are fewer so-called inflammatory mediators, i.e. substances that cause bronchospasm, more mucus production and precisely heavy breathing and shortness of breath.
Difficulty breathing: alkaline foods
Eat more alkaline foods because we find that when the body is acidified, it copes less well with exertion, making it easier to get breathless and breathe heavily.
Note: To restore the acid-alkaline balance, drink water with juice squeezed from half a lemon and green tea every day, eat millet groats, citrus and almonds.