Recognizing and Diagnosing Asthma

Recognizing and Diagnosing Asthma

Recognizing Symptoms

• audible wheeze
• shortness of breath
• frequent or persistent coughing, typically worse at night or after exercise
• inappropriate shortness of breath after exertion
• severe symptoms include: severe gasping for air, turning blue in the lips, exhaustion, a silent chest (in which hardly any air is able to enter the lungs). These are signs of impending collapse.

Triggers

• the most common trigger is the flu and other viral upper respiratory tract infections
• house dust mites, animal dander, pollen and mould
• tobacco smoke, chemical fumes and scents
• air pollutants (like smoke)
• cold weather
• drugs, most commonly the NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) group of drugs
• physical exertion
• emotional stress
• contrary to popular belief, food is rarely a trigger, unless tests prove otherwise

Diagnosis

The diagnosis of asthma in early childhood still remains a challenge for doctors, and is largely based on clinical judgment and an assessment of symptoms and physical signs. Occasionally, some tests are performed, such as spirometry and lung function tests, but these are difficult to perform in children younger than 5 years of age.

Symptoms of Asthma

What is Asthma?

Asthma is a condition in which the bronchial tubes of the respiratory tract are hyper-reactive. In response to various triggers, the airways constrict and get inflamed, resulting in the characteristic recurrent symptoms of asthma: shortness of breath, wheezing or cough. The narrowing of the air passage is usually temporary and is reversible, but in sever asthma attacks, and incorrect asthma treatment, this disorder can be very fatal, and can cause death.

Asthma is largely an allergic disorder, which often occurs with allergic rhinitis (sensitive nose), allergic conjunctivitis (sensitive eyes) and eczema (sensitive skin). As with most allergic disorders, there is a significant hereditary component. So parents with atopy (sensitivity) are more likely to have atopic children.

What are the Causes of Asthma?

There are various reasons why people seem to acquire this respiratory order, and it is very important to understand the cause of each asthma case to know the right asthma treatment for it. Below are the two most popular factors causes asthma.

Genetics play a big role in human’s lives, not just in looks, body frame and intellect, but also in the disorders that each genes caries to its offspring. Asthma’s heredity factors can come from mother or father and rate of occurrence doubles of both parents have history of asthma. If the family’s history repeatedly shows asthma cases, it is more likely that their generation will acquire this respiratory disorder. Some people develop asthma through exposure to various allergens, it can be contagious or non-contagious.

Asthma can also be acquired from certain infections. Respiratory and bronchial infections like bad cold, whooping cough, chest congestion and pneumonia can sometimes leads to similar symptoms of asthma. Children who have weak immune systems than adults are very susceptible to other related respiratory disorders too. A person that is highly sensitive to allergens, like those who have allergic rhinitis or repeated sneezing, are prone to develop bronchial infections and can develop asthma fast on their system as the nose and lungs became breeding grounds conducive for micro organisms to live and multiply. The asthma treatment for this kind of asthma should be both for the infection and allergy to guarantee full recovery.

Asthma and Allergies

coming soon