President George H.W. Bush has been hospitalized for bronchitis, a relatively common illness that can affect anyone, young or old. If you want to avoid the coughing, wheezing, chest pain, and discomfort bronchitis can cause, follow these tips.
5 Ways to Prevent Bronchitis
Strengthen Your Lungs
Your lungs can become stronger from an exercise as simple as blowing up balloons. You may also benefit from cardiovascular exercise such as running, bicycling, or yoga.
Quit Smoking
Unless you live under a rock, you should be aware of how unhealthy smoking is for you. But along with the health implications including increased risk of heart disease, cancer, and stroke, you’ll also have a greater chance of getting bronchitis if you like to smoke. So drop the bad habit and reduce your chance of getting bronchitis, along with all sorts of other long-term illnesses.
Wash Your Hands
Germs are spread from person to person through shaking hands, slapping people high-five, or just touching common objects like door handles, keyboards, and cupboards. One way to avoid catching nasty bugs that other people have – bronchitis included – is to wash your hands often and completely. In addition to preventing bronchitis, frequent hand-washing can help prevent lots of common illnesses including the cold and flu.
Stay Away from Sick People
Sure, you can talk on the phone or have a nice skype-chat, but if one of your friends or someone in your family has bronchitis, you’ll want to stay far away so you don’t catch what they have.
Eat Right
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that foods that are part of a healthy diet are those that can also keep your immune system strong. Along with having a well-balanced diet full of fresh vegetables and fruits, eating onions and drinking ginseng tea may also help. It’s also important to avoid foods that can weaken your immune system including fried foods, high-fat dairy products, refined sugar, and salty foods.
The Takeaway
Bronchitis is a nasty illness that can cause coughing, wheezing, chest pain, and worse. Avoid getting sick in the first place by washing your hands, staying away from sick people, not smoking, and having strong lungs. If you follow these tips, even without the executive care President George H. W. Bush is getting to treat his bronchitis, you’ll be able to fight off the illness without getting so much as a sniffle.
Photo by William Brawley