A few people have asked me for tips on managing asthma with #Covid_19 so I thought I'd share some things that helped me. (NB. I am not a medical professional - this is just my personal experience).

1. Check out the @asthmauk website for lots of helpful info written by actual experts.

2. Get a peak flow meter if you don't have one & use it when you're well to get a sense of what you usually blow at different times of day. That way when you're poorly you have meaningful data to work with.

3. Similarly, you might consider a pulse oximeter app to record your heart rate & blood oxygen (sats). It's not clear how reliable these are (one study on kids suggests they're pretty good) but either way they give you a sense of trend. If your sats are dropping, you need help.

4. Gargle as well as rinsing after taking your inhalers. You might end up taking a lot of inhalers & corona often gives you a sore throat.

5. On that note, my sore throat saviour: dissolve 300mg aspirin in half a glass of water (provided you're OK with aspirin: not everyone is). Gargle, then swallow. Follow up with lemsip & honey. Magic.

6. Whatever "extra fluids" means to you, treble it. Seriously. Drink all of the water (or squash). Even if you don't feel like you particularly need it.

7. Try to rest. Not my strong suit, personally. If you have children, give them screens. Lovely screens. This is temporary.

8. If you need advice/support, it's easiest & quickest to ring the GP surgery for a same day telephone appt, rather than 111. AsthmaUK also have a helpline.

(If ringing the GP, tell the receptionist you're struggling with your asthma because you've had covid, not that you have covid & are struggling with your asthma - you don't want to be directed to 111 before you've finished your sentence. 111 likely to send you back to GP anyway.)

9. It's totally sane to be scared. It helped me to have a hospital bag packed by the door & a message drafted to loved ones (one email so I could just hit send). I like to be prepared for any scenario but that's not universal, I'm sure.

10. Some people do get bacterial chest infections alongside, particularly in the second/third week. So if you are working hard, especially if your temp is up or you're coughing gunk, you might consider that possibility & have a chat with the GP about a course of antibiotics.

@Wanderingpsych