Asthma symptoms are manifested by swelling of the airway mucosa and stretching of the surrounding muscles. The mucus then fills the airways, further reducing the amount of air that can pass through them.
These conditions can then cause an asthma “attack” with coughing and tightness in the chest that is typical of asthma.
Chest Diseases Specialist Dr. Tuğçe Hürkal answered the questions of what is asthma, what causes asthma, what is affected by it, can asthma attacks be prevented for you.
WHAT ARE ASTHMA SYMPTOMS?
The most common symptom of asthma is wheezing. This is a squeaking or whistling sound that occurs when you breathe. Other asthma symptoms may include:
- Cough, especially at night, while laughing or exercising
- chest tightness
- Shortness of breath
- Difficulty speaking
- worry or panic
- burnout
- chest pain
- rapid breathing
- Lung diseases
- wheezing
- persistent coughs
- Prolonged night and morning coughs
Some people experience symptoms continuously throughout the day. Keep in mind that even if your asthma is well managed, you may experience an occasional flare-up of symptoms. Exacerbations usually resolve with the use of fast-acting treatments such as inhalers, but severe cases may require medical attention. If your symptoms worsen or do not improve with the use of an inhaler, you should seek medical treatment immediately.
CAUSES AND AFFECTS ASTHMA
Among the causes of asthma are genetic and environmental factors and viral infections that are frequently exposed in childhood.
Many factors can also trigger asthma and cause symptoms to worsen. Asthma triggers can vary, and some patients may be more sensitive to certain triggers than others. The most common triggers include:
- Health conditions such as respiratory infections
- To exercise
- Environmental irritants
- allergens
- intense emotions
- difficult weather conditions
- Pests
- Certain medications, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
HOW IS ASTHMA DIAGNOSED?
In order to diagnose asthma, family history and history of the patient from birth are taken from the patients and pulmonary function test (PFT) can be performed on the patient. Pulmonary function tests measure the flow of air into and out of your lungs. For spirometry, the most common test, air is blown into a device that measures its velocity.
The most common type of stroke is allergic asthma, which represents 60 percent of all asthma cases. Although asthma can occur at any age, pediatric asthma particularly affects children, and adult-onset asthma does not appear until adulthood.
WHAT ARE ASTHMA TYPES?
Allergic asthma: Allergens such as pet dander, food, mold, pollen, and dust from animals such as cats and dogs trigger this most common type of asthma. Allergic asthma is usually seasonal because it co-occurs with seasonal allergies.
Non-allergic asthma: Irritants in the air that are not related to allergies trigger this type of asthma. These include smoke, cigarettes, cold air, air pollution, viral diseases, air fresheners, household cleaning products, perfumes, and occupational asthma.
Occupational asthma: It is a type of asthma caused by triggers at work. These are dust, paint, gases and fumes, industrial chemicals, animal proteins, rubber latex. These irritants can be found in a wide variety of industries, including farming, textiles, woodworking and manufacturing.
Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction: It usually affects people within minutes of starting exercise and up to 10 to 15 minutes after physical activity.
Nocturnal asthma: In this type of asthma, symptoms worsen at night. Triggers thought to cause symptoms at night are painful burning sensations in the chest, pet dander, dust mites, and the body’s natural sleep cycle can also trigger nocturnal asthma.
cough variant asthma: Cough variant asthma does not have classic asthma symptoms such as wheezing and shortness of breath. It is characterized by a persistent, dry cough. If left untreated, it can lead to full-blown asthma exacerbations that include other more common symptoms.
HOW IS ASTHMA TREATED?
Asthma treatment varies depending on the type. There are 4 main categories and treatments: intermittent, mild persistent, moderately persistent and severe.
Most people have intermittent asthma that does not interfere with daily activities. Symptoms are mild, lasting less than 2 days per week or 2 nights per month.
In mild persistent asthma, symptoms occur more than twice a week, but not every day. It can be up to 4 nights a month.
In moderate persistent asthma, symptoms occur every day and at least 1 night per week, but not every night. They may limit some daily activities.
In severe asthma, symptoms occur several times each day and most nights. Daily activities are extremely limited.
ASTHMA TREATMENTS ARE SEPARATED IN FOUR MAIN CATEGORIES
Rapid relief drugs are a combination of long-term control drugs, rapid relief and long-term control drugs. Your treatment plan may also include learning about your triggers, monitoring your symptoms carefully, and taking steps to prevent flare-ups.
Rapid relief asthma treatments should only be used in case of asthma symptoms or exacerbations. They provide quick relief to help you breathe again.
Bronchodilators work within minutes to relax tense muscles around your airwaves and quickly reduce symptoms. Although they can be taken orally or injected, bronchodilators are most commonly taken with an inhaler or nebulizer. They can be used to treat sudden asthma symptoms or taken before exercise to prevent flare-ups.
If symptoms persist for more than 20 minutes and a second course of medication does not help, seek emergency medical attention.
Long-term asthma control medications are taken daily to help reduce the number and severity of your asthma symptoms, but they do not manage the immediate symptoms of an attack.
Doctors use biologics to treat severe asthma that hasn’t responded to other medications or treatment with trigger control. They work by targeting specific antibodies in your body. This disrupts the pathway that leads to inflammation that causes asthma.
BRONCHIAL THERMOPLASTY TREATMENT
This treatment uses an electrode to heat the airways inside the lungs, which helps reduce the size of the surrounding muscle and prevent the muscle from stretching. This minimally invasive procedure is performed by a doctor in a clinic or hospital and usually takes about an hour.
Bronchial thermoplasty is designed for people with severe asthma and can provide relief from symptoms for up to 5 years.
Lifestyle changes can also help reduce asthma exacerbations. This may include dietary changes, exercise or stress management. You can get support from a pulmonologist who is an expert in the field to determine the type of asthma you may have and the best treatment and management options for you.