People who suffer from asthma definitely have it harder than the others. Most other people know little about asthma and do not know how to deal with an emergency situation. If you suffer from asthma, here are 7 tips to cope with asthma at the workplace.
Asthma attacks are typically triggered by specific factors. Triggers can include dust, smoke, fur, chemicals, etc. Know what your asthma triggers are and try to avoid them.
Once you know what triggers off your asthma attack, it becomes easy to avoid these triggers. IF dust triggers your attack, ensure that dust doesn’t pile up in your immediate surroundings. If it is smoke, avoid the smoking area.
This is one of the important tips to cope with asthma at the workplace. Take the help of your colleagues to create a trigger-free environment for you. For instance, if dust is your triggers, get the help of your colleagues to create a dust free environment in the office.
If you find that you have more trouble during the work week rather than weekends and holidays, you may be suffering from occupational asthma. This is a big revelation as you may need to reconsider your occupation or take to your physician about your medicinal choices. You may need to also work with your superiors and colleagues to see if it possible for you to reduce exposure to your triggers.
In all likelihood, your colleagues may not know how to deal with someone having an asthma attack. Educate them so that in case you get a severe attack, they know the best course of action. They should loosen your clothing, make it easier for you to breathe and give you one puff from your inhaler per minute until the attack subsides or help arrives.
Make sure that you are always prepared for an emergency. Make sure you always have an inhaler in your desk and one in your bag. Also, make sure that at least 2 or 3 of your colleagues know how to use it properly. This is another of the most important tips to cope with asthma at the workplace.
Just as your colleagues need to know how to deal with an asthma attack, they should also be able to know when the situation is getting out of hand and emergency services are required. If your seizure does not get any better after 5 minutes of puffing on your inhaler once every minute, it means that you are in urgent need of proper medical attention. However, they should continue giving you one puff per minute until help arrives.
As you can see with this list of 7 tips to cope with asthma at the workplace, the most important thing is awareness. You need to be aware of what you need to avoid and your colleagues need to be aware of how to deal with your attack.
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