What is Asthma?
Airways are responsible for taking air in and out of the lungs, but what happens when they don’t function rightly?
Asthma is a chronic respiratory condition that affects approximately 24 million Americans; the airways are constricted, preventing the passage of air properly in the lungs and causing uneasiness and sometimes perilous symptoms.
For some persons, asthma symptoms are very inconvenient and cause life-threatening asthma attacks that can disturb everyday life.
Triggers of Asthma...
Asthma patients have sensitivities to things around them, which can trigger asthma or asthma attacks.
During an attack of asthma, the muscles present in the airways or respiratory tract are contracted, reducing the ability of the asthma patient to breathe properly and causing symptoms like breathlessness, coughing, and wheezing.
Triggers may vary from person to person, and the examples are...
- Respiratory infections
- Tobacco smoke
- Exercise
- Weather change
- Allergens (dust, pollen, pets, mold, etc.)
- Medicines
- Airway irritants (cleaning products, perfumes, pollution, etc.)
Some people get asthma flare-ups in specific places like in the gym, at work, and while doing outdoor activities.
In cold weather, exercise-triggered asthma may happen more frequently, occupational asthma patients are susceptible to the smells of chemicals, gas, dust, etc. Patients with allergic asthma should be wary of airborne substances like dust and mold, spores, dog dander, and pollen grains.
Symptoms of asthma...
Many symptoms are the best characteristic of an asthma attack, some of which may tell about a serious medical emergency.
Symptoms and signs and of asthma include...
- Wheezing when the patient is exhaling
- Coughing attacks
- Chest pain
- Shortness of breath
- Trouble sleeping due to these symptoms.
If your symptoms of asthma become more bothersome or frequent, your breathing difficulty worsens, or you may need to use a quick-relief inhaler more often, it may be an indication that your problem of asthma is getting worse day by day.
Asthma may be a life-threatening problem, so you should need emergency medical treatment if shortness of breath worsens rapidly, there is no improvement in your symptoms even after using your asthma inhaler, or you feel shortness of breath while doing minimal physical activity.
Diagnosis & treatment...
To diagnose asthma, your doctor will review your symptoms, family history, and history of your previous medicines and by performing a physical examination.
During the physical examination, your doctor will listen to your heart and lungs sounds. Your doctor may also order breathing, allergy and blood tests, and x-rays of the chest.
The results of these investigations tell your doctor whether or not you have a problem with asthma or can help identify other conditions that may be associated with your symptoms.
The first step to control asthma is avoiding the main triggers of allergy, but that’s not possible every time.
People with asthma should work with their doctor to find the best treatment options.
Your doctor may prescribe long-term asthma control medicines that are taken daily to control your symptoms and prevent asthma attacks, along with quick-relief medicines taken for short-term relief of symptoms & possibly medicines for asthma induced by allergy to reduce the body's sensitivity against allergic triggers.
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