Asthma: Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis & Treatment

Asthma is a chronic condition that affects the air passage in the lungs of both adults and children. Due to this inflammatory disease, breathing gets difficult. 

Therefore, it is vital to know about this ailment, including asthma symptoms, causes and cures. Considering this, we present you with facts and details of asthma in the following section.

Without any delay, learn everything about causes, signs and treatment for asthma from this piece!

As explained by several medical experts, the meaning of asthma is the narrowing of the lung’s airways due to inflammation and the tightening of the muscles around the small air passages. This obstructs the airflow inside the lungs causing various symptoms. In addition to this, sometimes mucous fills up the airways that carry oxygen to the bloodstream, worsening the situation.

Moreover, the disease occurs in both children and adults. One out of every twelve children in America has asthma. In some cases, some triggering factors like viral infection can become the reasons for asthma affliction. Therefore, to fight against the disease, it is important to pinpoint its symptoms. However, the signs vary depending on their types.

Asthma types are crucial to know for better treatment options. Therefore, we have enlisted the types of asthma in the following section:

Childhood Asthma

Most children aged between 5 and 14 years are susceptible to this ailment. Small triggers like smoke or allergens can set off the condition whereby they face difficulty in breathing. The initial symptoms can subside as the child ages up, but it is advisable to consult a doctor to be on the safe side.

Adult-onset Asthma

Adults can contract asthma and have persistent symptoms at any point. A number of factors like exposure to pollution and smoke, hormonal changes, stress, etc., can trigger this condition.

Occupational Asthma

Working personnel from bakeries, farms, pet shops, and hospitals are prone to asthma. Even the working environment can trigger childhood asthma or cause adult-onset asthma.

Severe Asthma

As per research, 5-10% of people suffer from severe asthma.  Someone who does not know the proper way to use an inhaler can get severe symptoms. However, most of them have severe refractory asthma that becomes unresponsive to medications after a certain time. Eosinophilic asthma is a type that does not respond to treatment for asthma.

Seasonal Asthma

This type of asthma is caused by allergens depending on the seasons. For instance, in winter, one might contract asthma due to the cold air. Similarly, in summers or springs, pollens can trigger such conditions.

Now that you know about the types of asthma, you can go through the following section to learn about its basic signs.

The symptoms of asthma vary across patients. However, the most common signs are given below:

• Wheezing or whistling sound during breathing.
• Coughing at night or in the early morning.
• Chest tightness.
• Difficulty in breathing.
• Panic or anxiousness.
• Fatigue.

Apart from this, some factors can trigger an asthmatic condition. They are as follows:

• Viral infection or cold.
• Rigorous exercises.
• Hyperventilating from laughing or crying.
• Allergens.

More often than not, these signs and triggers can point towards seeking treatment for asthma. In some situations, due to critical symptoms, patients can face episodes of an asthma attack. These can become life-threatening in a short span. Therefore, it is advisable to consult a doctor should you notice the above signs.

Furthermore, to cure asthma, one should be aware of its causes.

Asthma is caused due to several factors ranging from allergens to respiratory ailments. Therefore, it is difficult to point to a single source while talking about asthma. Here are some of the main causes:

• It is likely to occur if any close members of the family, particularly parents, or siblings, have asthma.
• An individual with allergic conditions like eczema or hay fever can also contract this ailment.
• Change of lifestyle and habits like smoking tobacco etc., can be a reason for getting asthma.
• Smoking during pregnancy can directly affect the foetus as it increases the risk of developing asthma in his or her later life. Even low birth weight, prematurity, exposure to air pollution and more can cause severe asthmatic conditions later.
• Environmental factors like indoor and outdoor pollution, moulds, house dust mites and occupational irritants like chemical fumes, smoke and dust can be triggering factors in causing asthma.
• According to recent research, obese adults or children are at a higher risk of contracting asthma. 

Apart from this, you must know everything about asthma diagnosis.

Before knowing how to cure asthma, one should be aware of the diagnosis procedure. Asthma is diagnosed based on a patient’s medical history, physical exams and diagnostic tests in various ways.

Doctors will diagnose asthma by asking about the symptoms, risk factors, allergies, etc. After that, they will carry out physical exams as mentioned below:

• Checking your breathing for any signs of asthma.
• Looking for allergic skin conditions

Furthermore, they will carry out the following diagnostic tests to detect asthmatic conditions:

1. Pulmonary Function Tests

In this test, patients need to breathe in and out through a tube that is connected to a computer. This measures how much air and with how much speed you can breathe in and out with maximum effort.

2. Spirometry With Bronchodilator Tests

Doctors give an inhaling medicine during the start of this test to relax the muscles in the lungs and measure how fast patients can breathe in and out.

3. Bronchoprovocation Tests

This test is a measurement of how a patient's lungs airways react to several exposures of allergens or medicines.

4. Peak Respiratory Flow Tests

PEF tests are a measurement of how fast an individual can blow out air with maximum effort.

5. Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide Tests

High levels of nitric oxide in your breath are a sign of inflammation. Therefore, this test measures the level of nitric oxide in the exhaled air.

6. Skin or Blood Tests for Allergy

These are common tests to detect allergic conditions in a patient.

After the doctors diagnose the ailment, they will prescribe a suitable treatment for asthma.

Doctors recommend several home remedies for asthma to ease asthma symptoms. However, for serious conditions, they will prescribe medicines. Primarily the asthma treatment falls under three primary categories:

Breathing Exercises

These are some home remedies one should opt for if they belong to the risk category. In addition, breathing exercises increase an individual's lung capacity, thereby making this the best cure for asthma.

Quick-acting Treatments

In case of prolonged symptoms and in the advent of asthma attacks, doctors recommend opting for quick-relief treatments like using bronchodilator or inhalers or following the protocol for first-aid asthma treatment.

Long-term Asthma Control Medications

Doctors prescribe anti-inflammatories, anticholinergics, long-acting bronchodilators and various biologic drugs to reduce the severity of asthma symptoms. 

In addition to this, in extreme cases, patients can undergo bronchial thermoplasty to treat asthma. 

However, determining the risk factors beforehand will help an individual to prevent asthma.

Learning about the asthma risk factors will go a long way as it helps to cure the condition conveniently. Here are the risk factors to consider:

• If an individual is brought up in a polluted environment or has been exposed to allergic conditions from birth, he/she can contract asthma.
• An individual belonging to a family with a medical history of asthma will face increased risk of the condition. 
• People with medical conditions like obesity, allergy, respiratory wheezing, etc. 
• Native Americans or Puerto Ricans have a higher risk of contracting asthma. 
• Asthma is more prevalent in boys in the case of children and women in the case of adults.

Organisations like WHO have included asthma in its Global Action Plan for the prevention and control of NCDs. In addition to this, they are taking the necessary steps to diagnose and treat this chronic disease in several ways. However, by following certain tips, one can prevent asthma. The preventive measures are as follows:

• Identification of triggers and avoiding them.
• Reduce exposure to allergens.
• Preventive medications.
• Consultation with a doctor in case of emergencies.

Therefore, from the aforementioned piece, it is evident that the severity of diseases like asthma depends on a number of factors. Upon taking proper preventive measures and treatment for asthma, one can fight this ailment and lead a healthy life.