Asthma and respiratory allergies

What are the symptoms of asthma?

Symptoms of asthma generally vary from person to person, but some of the common ones are:

• Breathing problems like shortness of breath
• Pain or tightness in the chest
• Sleep difficulty due to shortness of breath, coughing or wheezing
• Wheezing, a sound like a whistle on exhaling is characteristic of asthma, especially in children

Some common symptoms of bronchitis include:

• Breath shortness
• Chest discomfort
• Cough
• Fatigue
• Fever with chills
• Mucous production

What are the causes of asthma?

The exact cause of asthma is not clearly understood, it is believed that there could be associated genetic and environmental factors involved. Some of the common triggers of asthma are:

• Blast of cold air
• Certain medications
• Exposure to irritants like pollen, dust, smoke, mold spores, chemicals etc
• Factors eliciting a stress response like exercise, tension, strong emotions etc
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
• Respiratory diseases and infections of respiratory tract like common cold
• Preservatives in fruits, natural food like mushroom, shrimp etc

How can asthma attacks be prevented?

Though asthma can’t be prevented altogether, certain lifestyle changes can help in preventing the attacks and severity of asthma like:

• Adhering to your physician or pulmonologist’s instructions and treatment plan
• If advised by your pulmonologist, taking vaccinations for flu and pneumonia
• Identifying and avoiding triggers
• Learning to identify and treat attacks early without ignoring the warning signs.

What are the treatments for asthma?

Treatment of asthma is focused on preventing acute asthma attacks and maintaining a long-term control. Some of the treatment options include:

Medications:

• Medications- oral or intravenous, nebulization
• Asthma inhalers with bronchodilators for quick relief
• Immunotherapy or allergy shots to reduce the reaction of the immune system to specific allergens

Bronchial thermoplasty is suggested for severe asthma that does not respond to medications. It is a safe, minimally invasive procedure that aims to open up the narrowed airways and facilitate airflow (and breathing). This is achieved by selectively reducing the thickness of the smooth muscle mass by applying radio-frequency pulses.

An asthma attack should be treated as an emergency. Call for medical help –

• When shortness of breath occurs at rest or when it is triggered with slightest physical activity
• When shortness of breath or wheezing is uncontrollable and doesn’t improve even after using an inhaler

It is important to learn more about bronchial thermoplasty, its clinical efficacy, safety, success rates, and improved asthma outcomes it has to offer.

To know more about asthma, you can request a callback and our asthma and respiratory allergies specialist will call you and answer all your queries.

References