Asthma

Liberty Oxygen and Medical Equipment is presenting a series on various conditions individuals may have. These articles will provide some background information for each condition and help you understand how our oxygen and medical equipment resources may be best suited for you or your senior loved one’s needs. Click to learn more about COPD, sleep apnea, Parkinson’s Disease, and seasonal affective disorder. With symptoms that vary from person to person, the Mayo Clinic describes asthma as a chronic condition that intermittently inflames an individual’s airways which causes them to narrow, swell, and produce extra mucus. Breathing can be difficult, which also brings on coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. For some, asthma is very minor but for others, it can be a condition that interferes with daily living and activities or even cause life threatening asthma attacks.

Symptoms

Although asthma cannot be cured, the symptoms can be managed. It’s important to work closely with your doctor to understand the signs and to identify the triggers, which will help prevent asthma attacks, as well as treatment adjustments when necessary. Symptoms may include:

• Shortness of breath
• Trouble sleeping
• Coughing or wheezing that typically become worse with a cold or the flu

Causes

It’s not clear why some individuals get asthma and others don’t, but is typically due to a combination of inherited and environmental factors. Some common asthma triggers include, but are not limited to:

• Pollen, dust, pet dander, or mold spores
• Infections of the respiratory system, such as the common cold
• Physical activity, which causes exercise-induced asthma
• Stress

Prevention

While there is no way to completely prevent asthma, getting a flu shot, taking medications if prescribed and using an inhaler when needed will help avoid asthma attacks. Liberty Oxygen carries a wide range of oxygen equipment, nebulizers and other respiratory devices for children and adults to help manage a person’s asthma. Our nebulizer and respiratory products, including Respironics children’s compressor nebulizers are available at our seven Twin Cities showroom locations. Liberty Oxygen and Medical Equipment is the premier home medical equipment provider serving Minneapolis, St. Paul and the surrounding Twin Cities suburbs with quality equipment and outstanding customer service. We enable you to stay safe and live independently in your home by offering a comprehensive array of home medical equipment and supplemental oxygen, including CPAP masks, inhalers, and oxygen supplies. The friendly staff at each of our locations is educated and experienced with the current insurance procedures and can work with the insurance company to ensure your medical equipment and oxygen supply needs are covered. Your health and well-being is too important to trust to just anyone. Let the caring professionals at Liberty Oxygen and Medical Equipment assist you with the home medical equipment and other healthcare and oxygen supplies you need. Stop in any of our seven Minneapolis and St. Paul metro locations or contact us today with questions, concerns or comments.