Simply put, Asthma is a lung disease. This happens when the airways get swollen, and because of that, the passageway of the air gets narrow due to the accumulation of mucus on the passage. With proper medication, these symptoms can be treated.
In this article, you will get to know the effect of Asthma, its causes, Asthma symptoms, as well as treatments and prevention.
What Are The Causes Of Asthma?
Asthma can mainly be caused due to two factors. These are:
1. Allergic Asthma
One of the significant causes of Asthma is inherent allergic conditions present in the patient. Some of the major allergens that lead to Asthmatic conditions include dust, pollen, molds, pet dander, etc.
2. Non-Allergic Asthma
There are a variety of factors that can cause Asthma in patients, although they are not allergic in nature. Some of them include exercising, running, high stress, cause of illness, cough-and-cold, weather conditions, etc.
Effect Of Asthma In The US
Asthma is one of the most problematic diseases in the US that affects a lot of people. As per the data provided by the US CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention), more than 25 million people in the US suffer from Asthmatic conditions. Furthermore, six million children have Asthma in the US, making it one in every twelve children having the condition.
According to the US CDC, “Asthma is a serious disease-causing wheezing, difficulty breathing, and coughing. Over a lifetime, it can cause permanent lung damage. About 16% of black children and 7% of white children have Asthma.”
What causes Asthma is not fully known to doctors, as it can occur due to a variety of factors. However, doctors do know how to treat Asthma, prevent Asthma attacks on patients, and lessen the severity of the effect of Asthma on the lungs of the patient.
Asthma Symptoms
A common symptom of Asthma, found in almost every patient, is breathing trouble and wheezing. It basically is a whistling sound that occurs at the time of breathing. Depending on the type of Asthma you get from the outside, the following are some of the significant Asthma symptoms:
- Breathing trouble or shortness of breath.
- Coughing due to exercise, running, or even during a laugh.
- Coughing during the night.
- Chest becoming tight.
- Difficulty during talking.
- Sudden panic or anxiety.
- Pain in the chest.
- Fatigue.
- Breathing fast.
- Common occurrence of infections.
- Breathing problems during sleeping time.
For some people, Asthma symptoms are common throughout the whole day. However, for many people, Asthma symptoms only come during performing a certain activity or coming near certain allergens. If you are experiencing one of these Asthmatic symptoms, consider making an appointment with your physician or an Asthma doctor.
Things That Trigger Asthma In Patients
Based on the type of Asthma and its causes, there are a variety of aspects that can trigger the effect of Asthma in patients. The following are the major factors that trigger Asthma:
Genetic Causes
If one of your parents has an Asthmatic condition, you are likely to develop Asthma. You can also develop Asthma if one of your siblings has it.
Viral Infections
In many cases, if a person has suffered from viral infections (especially RSV) in childhood, there is a likely chance of getting Asthma and developing an Asthmatic condition during middle age.
Non-Exposure To Bacteria
There are many theories that explain that when many babies are not exposed to enough bacteria during their early months, they have a chance to develop Asthma in later years. This is because their immune systems are not fully strong to fight off the mucus that causes the Asthmatic condition in the lungs.
How Is Asthma Diagnosed?
Whether someone has Asthma cannot be determined with any single test. Doctors mainly consider a variety of criteria and check the symptoms to establish whether someone has got Asthma or not.
The following are the factors that help in diagnosing Asthma:
Health Condition History
If your family members have breathing problems, there is a high chance of you getting the same. Furthermore, if you have not-so-good health conditions in your childhood, you can develop Asthma in later years.
Physical Exam
In such cases, doctors perform various tests on the patient, like listening to the breathing through a stethoscope, taking skin tests of the patient to check allergic signs, checking whether the patient has hives or eczema, etc.
Breathing Tests
There are a variety of ways and pulmonary function tests through which a doctor can check your rate of breathing and airflow through the lungs. A common test that is performed is spirometry.
Asthma Treatment
Based on the type of Asthma you have, age, triggering factors, etc., the doctor will treat your Asthmatic condition. However, no treatment can entirely remove Asthma from the lungs. There are mainly four types of Asthma treatment generally performed on patients:
- Medications for the long term.
- Medications for instant relief.
- Combination of the above two. In fact, this is the most recommended treatment by Asthma doctors. Furthermore, the NAEPP released this in 2020.
- Using injection or infusion technique to provide biologics to the patient.
How To Prevent Asthma?
The following are the major ways to control and prevent Asthma in a patient:
- Ensure the patient stays clear of allergens, triggers, and other factors that cause Asthma.
- Staying clear of medicines, chemicals, or products that have caused breathing trouble in the patient.
- Regular allergen immunotherapy is also helpful in altering the immune system and making it strong.
- Never going out of the medication that is prescribed by the doctor for the patient.
Conclusion
The biggest problem that Asthma creates in patients is that it gets very difficult for the person to breathe, and performing physical activities get very challenging as a result. Furthermore, it is a chronic condition, and it does not go away even after treatment.
Ongoing medical treatment is necessary to keep Asthma in control. Another important thing that you need to ensure is that you get the recommendation of the doctors only who have treated Asthma conditions and have helped in limiting the effect of Asthma in patients.
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