When you and your doctor learn that you re living with asthma, you ll be prescribed medication that helps open air passageways to promote air flow and clean breathing. This medication may be taken every day, or as needed when breathing becomes a hassle. However this medication is prescribe, follow your doctor s order and follow your dosing schedule exactly. There are also lots of resources online, and at public libraries, where it s possible to find more information about living with asthma. Sometimes, living with asthma feels much easier when you know more about asthma itself. Even reading the stories and thoughts of others can make asthma seem much easier. Symptoms usually: 1) Vary from person to person. 2) Vary from episode to episode. 3) Flare up and get very severe, then disappear for long periods. 4) Symptoms can be mild, moderate, or severe for extended periods of time. The cause of asthma is not actually known; sometimes it appears genetic, but then identical symptoms pop up in a vacant gene pool of non-asthma sufferers. Persistent cough is common in asthmatics, especially children. But persistent cough happens to be symptomatic of lung disease, whooping cough, or postnasal drip. For adults or adolescents, there are often other factors at play, but infants who cough to the point of vomiting should get immediate attention from a doctor. Dust, pet dander, and smoke can all irritate any breathing condition, including asthma. Cleaning your home of these irritants can make living with asthma a whole lot easier. Asthma sufferers should not smoke, nor should they be exposed to smoking. If someone with asthma lives within the home, do not smoke inside of it. There are other things you can do to make living with asthma much easier, steps you can take that make avoiding attacks an easy enough task. Eliminating breathing irritants in the environment is the best way to combat asthma attacks, and make living with asthma an attack-free experience. These irritants include dust mites, pet dander, pollen, and smoke.