Asthma is a long-term disease that affects your lungs. It is due to the blockage of the air passages of the lungs and usually affects children and adults.

Asthma occurs due to the inflammation and tightening of muscles in the lungs. A person who is suffering from asthma can feel the symptoms of cough, wheezes, breath shortness, and tightening of the chest. Sometimes it becomes very difficult and painful for someone to breathe who has asthma. It can be fatal for you if you don’t diagnose it on time. The symptoms can get worse when you exercise or at night when you want to sleep. There are many things that can trigger asthma like dust, pollens, fumes, smoke, etc. These triggers vary from one person to another but one thing that is common is cold or viral infections. Sometimes a person can get triggered by perfumes, strong soaps, and shampoos.

 

Symptoms of Asthma

There are various symptoms of asthma we can talk about we will consider here the main symptoms of it. The most common symptoms of asthma are as follows:

  • Difficulty in breathing
  • Pain in the chest due to tightness
  • Constant wheezing when you exhale. It is the most common sign of asthma in children.
  • Trouble in sleep due to shortness of breath
  • Constant Coughs
  • Sudden attacks of coughs due to respiratory virus infection

Below are some of the signs of worsening of asthma:

  • Signs that are occurring frequently and bothering you more often.
  • Difficulty in breathing getting worse day by day.
  • You need to use an inhaler more often than usual.

Sometimes many other environmental changes can affect you and your asthma can get worse like when it’s cold you have to take great care of yourself. Sometimes during exercise, if your condition gets unbearable then you are at peak of your asthma. If you work at any place where fumes and dust occur frequently then you should avoid it for your health and safety.

Causes of Asthma

It is unclear yet that one gets asthma and others don’t get it even in the same environmental conditions and in the same demographics. Experts have concluded that it may be inherited or due to genetic factors of a person. There are many things around you that can trigger your asthma but we will discuss a few of them here as below:

  • Constant exposure to harmful materials or irritants can be a triggering factor for you.
  • If you work in a closed environment and there is no ventilation around you then you can have asthma over time.
  • Airborne triggers like pollens, dust particles, fumes from chimneys, chemical sprays, and mold spores.
  • Cold air can trigger your condition.
  • Smoke exposure for a long time even if you are not a smoker.
  • There is some sort of medicines are available which are not suitable for asthma patient like Advil, naproxen and Mortin IB, etc.
  • Stress can be a strong trigger.
  • Foods and beverages can trigger your asthma instantly like dry fruits, shrimp, beer, or wine.
  • GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease)[i] can be a cause in which stomach acid gets back up in your throat.

Risk Factors of Asthma

There are several factors that increase your chance of having asthma and some of them are as below:

  • If you have a blood relative who has asthma then there are some chances of developing it in you.
  • Excessive weight
  • Smoking
  • Constant exposure to second-hand smoke

Complications

Some of the well-known complications are as below:

  • Some of the symptoms that interfere with your routine like sleep and other activities.
  • Your work or school may affect by your sick leaves.
  • There may be a side effect of long-term usage of asthma medications.
  • Your bronchial tube may narrow down due to the asthma.

Diagnosis of Asthma

There is not a single method available to diagnose asthma. Doctors use multiple tests and methods to diagnose it. There are some of the key criteria upon which doctors determine that either you have it or not and that are given below:

  • If one of your family has breathing issues then this will alert the doctors that there is a slight chance of developing it.
  • Doctors take your physical exam like listen to your breath through a stethoscope and check whether there is some distortion in your breathing or not. Your skin can be checked for the signs of any allergy.
  • Your pulmonary function test measures the flow of air through your lungs and then doctor determine whether it is normal or you have symptoms of asthma.

For children doctors do not take any breathing tests because it difficult to take readings. For adults, it is very easy to take any type of the test and then doctor recommend the desired medications.

Preventions

At this point there so solid cure of asthma but doctors have made a step-by-step plan that varies from one doctor to another which includes living with your asthma but to prevent the attacks. There are some key points from the plan are given below:

  • You should strictly follow the asthma plan as your doctor has prescribed you. You have to cooperate with doctor and your healthcare team to prevent asthma attack which can be fatal for you.
  • It is an ongoing disease that needs regular checkup and treatment. You should be aware of your present condition.
  • You should take control of your treatment so that you can control your life on your own not as prescribed by the doctors but first you have to be sure.
  • You should take great care of your vaccinations like influenza[ii] and pneumonia so that you can prevent the cold.
  • You should monitor your breathing more often to track the record of the current situation of asthma.
  • You have to keep the record of peak airflow of your lungs and if there is any ambiguity in it then you will be aware of it.
  • Do not compromise on your prescribed medications. Take them on time and regularly. It will keep you running which is most important for you more than anything else.

 

[i] https://www.webmd.com/heartburn-gerd/guide/reflux-disease-gerd-1

 

[ii] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/flu/symptoms-causes/syc-20351719