subject: All You Want To Know About Asthma [print this page] Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of airways, in which airways of lungs swells and becomes narrow. During the asthma attack, the muscles surrounding the airways become tight and swelling occurs in the lining of the air passages. In such a condition, amount of air passing through airways reduces and asthmatics experiences the symptoms like wheezing, breathing problem, tightness in chest, and coughing. These symptoms are more frequently experienced during night and early morning.
Symptoms of asthma
Common symptoms of asthma are -
Cough with or without sputum production
Shortness of breath
Wheezing
Abnormal breathing pattern
Chest pain
Tightness in the chest
In severe cases symptoms of asthma includes
Decreased level of consciousness
Colour of lips and face turns out to be bluish
Too difficult to breath
Sweating
Severe anxiety due to shortness of breath
Causes of asthma
Allergies Most of asthma patients have some kind of allergies. The allergic reactions caused by antibodies in the blood often results to inflammation of airways that is associated with asthma. Indoor allergens such as animal proteins, fungi and dust mites cause asthma.
Smoking People smoking tobacco are at higher risk of causing asthma and other respiratory infections. Children of mother who smoke also have a higher risk of asthma.
Obesity Overweight people with a body mass index more than 25 are more likely to have asthma as compared to those who are not overweight.
Environmental factors Asthma is caused due to external factors such as pollution, cold temperatures and high humidity. Destructive ingredients like ozone released in smoggy conditions causes cough, shortness of breath and chest pain.
Pregnancy Children have lower pulmonary function if there mother smokes, leading to asthma. Premature and caesarean birth increases the risk of developing asthma.
Stress People, who undergo too much stress, can develop asthma.
Treatments for asthma
No treatment is available for asthma, only symptoms can be reduced by medication!
Shocking but true, asthma is incurable. It can only be controlled. Treatments of asthma involve controlling asthma and reducing the symptoms of this respiratory problem. Chest physician or pulmonologist is specialized in management of asthma. They often suggest keeping a track of asthma symptoms and attack and peak flow number, so that medication can be suggested accordingly. Nebulizers are also used by the asthma patient to manage the symptoms of asthma. Nebulizer is an inhaler, which vaporize a dose of medication into tiny droplet of mist, so that it can easily be inhaled directly into lungs.
