Asthma is a long-term (chronic) lung illness. It impairs the tubes that carry air into and out of your lungs, called airways. Your airways might become congested and narrowed if you have asthma. This might lead to breathing, coughing, and chest tightness. An asthma attack or flare-up happens when these symptoms become more severe than usual.
What are the causes of asthma?
Asthma’s actual cause is unknown. Who gets asthma is most probably affected by genetics and the environment.
When you are introduced to an asthma trigger, you may get an asthma attack. Something that can start off or worsen your asthma symptoms is known as an asthma trigger. Asthma can be caused by a variety of elements:
- Allergens are the cause of allergic asthma. Allergens are compounds that produce a reaction in people who are allergic to them. They may consist of
- Dust mites are a type of mite that lives in the
- Molds.
- Grass pollen, tree pollen, and weed pollen
- Pest waste, such as cockroach and mouse droppings
- Breathing in chilly air Certain treatments Nonallergic asthma is caused by triggers that are not allergens.
- Chemicals found in the home
- Infections such as colds and the flu Pollution in the outside air
- Tobacco smoke is a harmful substance.
- Breathing in chemicals or industrial dusts at work causes occupational asthma.
- During physical activity, particularly when the air is dry, exercise-induced asthma might develop.
- Asthma triggers might vary from person to person and alter over time.
Who is at risk of developing asthma?
Asthma can affect people of all ages, although it is most common in children. Asthma can be triggered by a number of factors, including:
- When your mother is pregnant with you or when you are a tiny child, you are exposed to secondhand smoking.
- Working with specific compounds, such as chemical irritants and industrial dusts
- Family history and genetics. If one of your parents has asthma, you’re more likely to have it yourself, especially if it’s your mother.
- Ethnicity or race. Asthma is more common in black and African Americans, as well as Puerto Ricans, than in people of other races or ethnicities.
- Obesity and allergies are examples of other diseases or ailments.
- As a child, I had a lot of viral respiratory infections.
- Sex. Asthma is more common in boys than in girls. It is more common in women in adolescence and adulthood.
What are some of the signs and symptoms of asthma?
Asthma symptoms include the following:
- Tightness in the chest
- Coughing, especially in the middle of the night or early in the morning
- Breathing problems
- Wheezing produces a whistling sound when you exhale.
- These signs and symptoms might be modest to severe. You can eat them every day or only every now and then.
When you have an asthma attack, your symptoms worsen dramatically. The attacks may start slowly or unexpectedly. They can be life-threatening at times. People with severe asthma are more likely to develop them. If you’re suffering from asthma attacks, your treatment may need to be adjusted.
What is the procedure for diagnosing asthma?
To diagnose asthma, your doctor may use a variety of methods, including:
- Physical examination
- Previous medical history
- Lung function tests, such as spirometry, are used to determine how well your lungs operate.
- Tests to see how your airways react to various stimuli. You will breath various doses of allergens or drugs that may tighten the muscles in your airways during this test. Before and after the test, spirometry is performed.
- PEF tests are used to determine how quickly you can blow air out while exerting maximal effort.
- FeNO (fractional exhaled nitric oxide) tests are used to determine the amount of nitric oxide in your breath when you exhale. Your lungs may be irritated if your nitric oxide levels are high.
- If you have a history of allergies, you should get allergy skin or blood tests. These tests determine which allergens cause your immune system to react.
What are the asthma treatments?
If you have asthma, you will develop a treatment plan with your health care practitioner. Ways to control your asthma symptoms and prevent asthma episodes will be part of the plan. It will include the following:
- Techniques for avoiding triggers. If tobacco smoke is a trigger for you, for example, you should not smoke or allow others to smoke in your home or vehicle.
- Medicines for short-term relief, commonly known as quick-relief medications. During an asthma attack, they can help prevent or reduce symptoms. They come with an inhaler that you may keep with you at all times. Other types of drugs that work swiftly to assist expand your airways may also be included.
- Medicines that are under control.
You will also need emergency care if you have a severe attack and the short-term relief drugs do not work.
Your asthma treatment may be adjusted by your doctor until your symptoms are under control.
Asthma can be severe at times, and other therapies are ineffective. If you’re an adult with uncontrolled asthma, your doctor may recommend bronchial thermoplasty in some circumstances. Heat is used to reduce the smooth muscle in the lungs in this treatment. The capability of your airway to tighten is reduced by shrinking the muscle, allowing you to breathe more readily. Because the surgery carries potential dangers, it’s crucial to address these with your doctor.
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