Regular exercising could be an effective weapon against Asthma

Contributed by – Healthians Team

Among all the common diseases, diabetes stands out from the rest. According to the estimation, 77 million people in India have been diagnosed with diabetes. Once you are affected by diabetes, you require information, education, support, and self-management skills for effective control and treatment.

Diabetes is caused by low or high blood sugar levels in your blood. When your blood sugar level is higher than normal it starts to affect your eyes in such a way that your vision may get blurry. If diabetes is not controlled then the condition of your eyes can get worse and even lead to partial or complete blindness. It is therefore important to know how diabetes affects your eyes and how keeping it control is the only way to protect your eyes.

Diabetes and eye problems

Diabetes occurs if your pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin or your body can’t use it properly. Insulin is the hormone that ensures that the glucose entering the bloodstream from the digestion of food must be removed from the blood. The result of insufficient action of insulin increases the blood glucose concentration in blood and causes hyperglycemia. Hyperglycemia also refers to high blood sugar levels in your blood. It may cause nerve damage and worsen your vision.

There is a condition called hypoglycemia which is the opposite of hyperglycemia, which is caused by low blood sugar levels in your blood. The mild symptoms of hypoglycemia also include blurry vision or double vision, and difficulty in concentration.

Eye diseases caused by diabetes

Blurry vision

The damage to your eyes starts when high levels of sugar in the bloodstream blocks the tiny blood vessels that go to your retina, causing them to leak fluid or bleed. In healthy eyes, there is a balance between the fluid that is made and the fluid that leaves the eye. Therefore, this fluid creates constant pressure within the eye and is needed to keep the eye swelled, supported, and working appropriately. Blurry vision may be caused due to the extra fluid leaking into the lens of the eyes. This can lead to the change in the shape of the lens and make it hard for your eyes to focus.

Short-term elevations in blood sugar levels can also affect the lens of the eye, causing blurred vision. Only after controlling diabetes, your blurry vision may get better. Sometimes the blurred vision causes a person to see an ophthalmologist, who then makes the diagnosis of diabetes.

To increase the level of insulin, some people take medicines as prescribed by their doctor and this might be the reason for blurry vision. Long term effects of blurry vision may lead to diabetic eye diseases like diabetic retinopathy, cataracts, and glaucoma.

Diabetic retinopathy

At the back of the eye on the retina, there are tiny blood vessels that nourish the nerves of your eyes. High glucose levels can injure these blood vessels. Those injured blood vessels can also leak fluid and cause swelling in an area of the retina called macular oedema, which can cause the loss of central vision, making it difficult to read or drive.

Glaucoma

In this condition, new fluid is constantly being made within the eye, and the fluid that is being replaced leaves the eye by entering a drainage meshwork towards the front of the eye. The blockage of the drainage system can lead to increased fluid pressure within the eye. This condition is called glaucoma. It may happen due to the eye pressure that is caused by high blood sugar levels in diabetes.

Cataracts

High glucose level causes changes in the proteins inside the cells of the lens and alters the optical properties of the lens. A cataract is caused by clouding of the lens in the eye in a way that the person can’t see clearly. The symptoms of cataracts are gradual blurring of the vision, glare in bright light or sunlight, and poor colour vision, etc. Many people may have cataracts after ageing, but it is seen more often in people who are suffering from diabetes.

How can vision losses be prevented in diabetes?

Early detection and timely treatment can prevent vision loss or blurry vision due to diabetes. Some self-management techniques to control diabetes are:

• Control your blood sugar level
• Maintain a healthy diet
• Avoid smoking
• Go for an annual eye test
• Do some eye exercise

The first concerns in treating diabetic patients are to save a life, alleviate symptoms, and enhance the quality of individuals’ life. Thereafter treatment aims to minimize long-term complications. You should try to maintain your blood pressure, check your cholesterol more often to prevent diabetes-related eye diseases.

Among many diseases, diabetes requires more self-management and primary care than others. Not only adhere to a special diet but also those who are undergoing insulin medication need to adjust their dose and watch their blood sugar levels closely.

Contributed by – Krushna Charan

Among all the common diseases, diabetes stands out from the rest. According to the estimation, 77 million people in India have been diagnosed with diabetes. Once you are affected by diabetes, you require information, education, support, and self-management skills for effective control and treatment.

Diabetes is caused by low or high blood sugar levels in your blood. When your blood sugar level is higher than normal it starts to affect your eyes in such a way that your vision may get blurry. If diabetes is not controlled then the condition of your eyes can get worse and even lead to partial or complete blindness. It is therefore important to know how diabetes affects your eyes and how keeping it control is the only way to protect your eyes.

Diabetes and eye problems

Diabetes occurs if your pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin or your body can’t use it properly. Insulin is the hormone that ensures that the glucose entering the bloodstream from the digestion of food must be removed from the blood. The result of insufficient action of insulin increases the blood glucose concentration in blood and causes hyperglycemia. Hyperglycemia also refers to high blood sugar levels in your blood. It may cause nerve damage and worsen your vision.

There is a condition called hypoglycemia which is the opposite of hyperglycemia, which is caused by low blood sugar levels in your blood. The mild symptoms of hypoglycemia also include blurry vision or double vision, and difficulty in concentration.

Eye diseases caused by diabetes

Blurry vision

The damage to your eyes starts when high levels of sugar in the bloodstream blocks the tiny blood vessels that go to your retina, causing them to leak fluid or bleed. In healthy eyes, there is a balance between the fluid that is made and the fluid that leaves the eye. Therefore, this fluid creates constant pressure within the eye and is needed to keep the eye swelled, supported, and working appropriately. Blurry vision may be caused due to the extra fluid leaking into the lens of the eyes. This can lead to the change in the shape of the lens and make it hard for your eyes to focus.

Short-term elevations in blood sugar levels can also affect the lens of the eye, causing blurred vision. Only after controlling diabetes, your blurry vision may get better. Sometimes the blurred vision causes a person to see an ophthalmologist, who then makes the diagnosis of diabetes.

To increase the level of insulin, some people take medicines as prescribed by their doctor and this might be the reason for blurry vision. Long term effects of blurry vision may lead to diabetic eye diseases like diabetic retinopathy, cataracts, and glaucoma.

Diabetic retinopathy

At the back of the eye on the retina, there are tiny blood vessels that nourish the nerves of your eyes. High glucose levels can injure these blood vessels. Those injured blood vessels can also leak fluid and cause swelling in an area of the retina called macular oedema, which can cause the loss of central vision, making it difficult to read or drive.

Glaucoma

In this condition, new fluid is constantly being made within the eye, and the fluid that is being replaced leaves the eye by entering a drainage meshwork towards the front of the eye. The blockage of the drainage system can lead to increased fluid pressure within the eye. This condition is called glaucoma. It may happen due to the eye pressure that is caused by high blood sugar levels in diabetes.

Cataracts

High glucose level causes changes in the proteins inside the cells of the lens and alters the optical properties of the lens. A cataract is caused by clouding of the lens in the eye in a way that the person can’t see clearly. The symptoms of cataracts are gradual blurring of the vision, glare in bright light or sunlight, and poor colour vision, etc. Many people may have cataracts after ageing, but it is seen more often in people who are suffering from diabetes.

How can vision losses be prevented in diabetes?

Early detection and timely treatment can prevent vision loss or blurry vision due to diabetes. Some self-management techniques to control diabetes are:

• Control your blood sugar level
• Maintain a healthy diet
• Avoid smoking
• Go for an annual eye test
• Do some eye exercise

The first concerns in treating diabetic patients are to save a life, alleviate symptoms, and enhance the quality of individuals’ life. Thereafter treatment aims to minimize long-term complications. You should try to maintain your blood pressure, check your cholesterol more often to prevent diabetes-related eye diseases.

Among many diseases, diabetes requires more self-management and primary care than others. Not only adhere to a special diet but also those who are undergoing insulin medication need to adjust their dose and watch their blood sugar levels closely.

Asthma is a type of respiratory condition that has grown disproportionately throughout the world over the past 30 years. When somebody suffers from Asthma it causes their airways to narrow, swell and produce extra mucus. This leads to breathing difficulty and triggers coughing, a whistling sound (wheezing) during breathing out and also causes shortness of breath.

Asthma symptoms vary from person to person. For some, asthma is a minor nuisance. But for some, it can be a major problem that interferes with daily activities and may lead to a life-threatening asthma attack. Though physical activities can become a challenge for people with asthma, regular exercise can actually help in controlling asthma symptoms by improving lung and cardiovascular health. Here we are going to discuss how regular exercising can have a positive impact in terms of controlling asthma symptoms, contrary to popular belief, the exercises that can give the best results and even what exercises to avoid so that asthma doesn’t get aggravated. 

How exercise can help you manage asthma symptoms?

Regular exercise can manage asthma symptoms by boosting the immune system to lessen the severity of symptoms. Exercise has many benefits in terms of managing asthma which are as follows:

• Managing weight can manage asthma: Excess fat around the neck or chest and abdomen might constrict the lungs and make it harder to breathe. Regular exercise plays a vital role in weight management which can improve endurance and manage the symptoms of asthma.

• Improving cardiovascular health helps: Increasing your heart rate regularly enhances your lung power, which increases stamina and helps reduce breathlessness. Good cardiovascular health supports your immune system and helps fight colds and viruses that is a major trigger for inducing asthma attacks in 80% of the cases.

• Exercising is proven to reduce inflammation in the respiratory system: Studies have shown that moderate exercising can help in reducing allergic airway inflammation. Inflammation of the airways worsens the asthma symptoms, hence reduced or no inflammation in the airways can be helpful in managing it.

• Exercise improves lung capacity to help reduce asthma symptoms: Asthma symptoms are directly linked to reduced lung capacity. Hence improving lung capacity through mild physical or breathing exercises can make the lungs function more efficiently and help keep them strong. Regular exercises therefore can be effective in managing asthma symptoms because stronger lungs get more oxygen and improve the respiratory rate.

[Also read: How much exercise is too much exercise?]

What are the best exercises to control asthma?

• Swimming: Swimming is one of the best exercises for people suffering from asthma. The air near swimming pools is low in pollen content, and breathing in moist, warm air and feeling pressure of the fluid on the chest, can have a positive effect in terms of reducing asthmatic symptoms.

• Walking: Walking is another great option for asthmatic people because it is a low-intensity exercise and it is easier to breathe during walking. Walking in warm weather is better than cold weather because cold and dry air can trigger asthma symptoms.

• Cycling: Cycling at a leisurely pace is a very gentle activity that doesn’t involve too much exertion. Hence it is considered to be one of the most effective exercises for asthma patients.

• Yoga: Yoga can help to control breathing and improve lung capacity. Yoga can improve posture and make breathing better by opening the chest muscles.

• Sports: Some short bursting sports including baseball, gymnastics, volleyball, and badminton are favourable for people with asthma. Group leisure activities like hiking are also proven to be effective for asthma patients.

Which exercises should be avoided if you have asthma?

People with asthma should avoid high-intensity exercises, at least until they build up endurance. Running, jogging, or high-intensity sports can be too much for a person with asthma if they are not accustomed to exercising.

It is also important to pay attention to the environment before exercising. For example, if pollen counts are high or the air is cool and dry, it is likely to be better to exercise indoors to reduce the risk of asthma flare-ups. It is also better to avoid exercising in cold, dry environments since they can also cause asthma flare-ups.

[Also read: How diet can help you to deal with asthma?]

How to control asthma during exercise?

The best thing to do for a person with asthma to prevent an asthma attack is to exercise keeping the following in mind:

• Use inhaler before exercise
• Warm-up before exercise
• Wear a mask in cold weather to avoid dry air
• Avoid polluted environments 

Regular exercising can hugely benefit people with this condition. Particularly those types of exercises that focus on regular breathing and increasing lung capacity. However, it’s best to consult a doctor and take advice on choosing the exercises that would suit you best and stay safe from asthma flare-ups while exercising. 

Exercise is part of a healthy lifestyle, but in the case of asthma, constant practice, and the right approach to any type of breathing exercise can be beneficial.