Supporting Your Respiratory Health

Tips To Help You Breathe Easier This Fall

With the weather getting cooler and the days getting shorter, it’s normal to start cozying up your home and changing your routine for autumn. Taking inspiration from the seasonal shift, we’re here to share some tips that can help you take better care of an often forgotten area of your overall health and wellness—your lungs!

Quit Smoking—or Never Start

One of the best ways to support your respiratory health and wellness is to quit smoking and using tobacco products. If you don’t smoke, you should never start, and you should actively avoid secondhand smoke as well.

Some of the many respiratory health benefits of quitting smoking include:

• Reduced risk of lung and throat cancer
• Improved lung function
• Reduced coughing, shortness of breath and asthma symptoms
• Improved circulation
• Decreased carbon dioxide levels in your blood

Improve Your Indoor Air Quality

With colder temperatures on the horizon, it’s inevitable that you’ll spend more time keeping warm and cozy indoors. However, plenty of factors can negatively affect your home’s indoor air quality and, as a result, your lung health.

Whether you suffer from environmental allergies or not, the following tips can help you keep your home’s air fresh this fall:

• Vacuum and dust your home at least once a week
• Wash your bedding regularly
• Try to keep furry pets off of your furniture
• Change your air filters regularly
• Aerate your bathrooms to prevent mold growth
• Opt for less harsh cleaning chemicals

Practice Good Hand Hygiene

When it comes to preventing upper-respiratory infections such as the common cold and the seasonal flu, washing your hands is your first line of defense. This is because it helps keep your hands free of illness-causing germs and bacteria that can enter your body and make you sick.

Follow these tips to help keep you and the people around you healthy:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water
• Use hand sanitizer when soap and water aren’t available
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands
• Be sure to cover your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing
• Try to stay home when you aren’t feeling well

Primary and Specialty Care in Ohio

Southwest General Medical Group, Inc. includes both primary care and specialty care physicians who are committed to providing patients with high-quality medical care. Our team of board-certified specialists and skilled physicians work to raise the bar for excellence in health care service for our community. To learn more about our primary and specialty care services or to schedule an appointment, visit our website.