Also good are sports that require shorter bursts of exercise, such as baseball, doubles tennis and golf. If you must exercise in the cold, wear a mask or scarf over your face. By doing warm-ups, you may avoid asthma symptoms that typically occur during the first 15 minutes of exercise. Avoid night noshing. Going to sleep on a full stomach might also feed your asthma.
Reflux occurs when stomach acid backs up into the esophagus.
Besides avoiding snacks, you could also take an antacid before bedtime to cut down on your stomach's acidity. Theophylline medications, which are sometimes prescribed to help control asthma, may actually aggravate your condition by increasing stomach reflux, says Dr. Creticos. If you are taking this medication and are having reflux problems, be sure to check with your doctor, so the dosage level can be adjusted. Besides cutting out midnight snacks, other ways to prevent reflux-induced asthma include elevating the head of your bed by placing it on bricks or wood blocks. Or prop yourself up with pillows to prevent acid's moving from your stomach to your esophagus, suggests H. James Wedner, M.D., chief of clinical allergy and immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.