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| | Title: | Somebody wheezing? Watch him. | | Article: | Your friend is coughing and wheezing. He is short of breath and complains on tight feeling in chest, some pain and pressure. What he heck is going on? It’s scary. Is it heart pump going bad? Do you need to call Ambulance right away? Well it could be a heart problem, very possible. However, later he says he suffers asthma. Poor guy. What is asthma? Asthma is a common chronic disease leading to shortness of breath and wheezing because of bronchoconstriction, and inflammation of airways.
There are one in 10 to 20 people in western countries suffering asthma. Almost 100 million people suffer worldwide. The mechanism of asthma may be due to allergic response or neuronal activity. Both may lead to airway narrowing. Asthma usually causes reversible airway obstruction in contrast to some other lung diseases. International guidelines advice the use of inhaled long-acting beta2-agonists together with inhaled corticosteroids as the maintenance. Usually the beta2-agonists such as salmeterol or formoterol are given twice-daily.
Family history gives important clues for the causes of asthma. A parent with asthma almost five times more likely has children with asthma compare to healthy one.
In general, you and your doctor can control asthma by avoiding triggers that cause an asthma attack. However, sometime an asthma attack is triggered by household dust or tobacco smoke.
Other important asthma triggers include:
Dirty outdoor air, such as industrial or automobile exhaust in large cities.
Some insects, especially cockroaches.
Pet’s fur
Mold
Physical exercise.
Freezing air temperatures,
Humid air,
Ozone from lightings during thunderstorm;
Some foods and drugs
Emotions
Asthma does not show the same symptoms in every patient. Some have all of the symptoms, others have just few. The symptoms vary from one asthma attack to another attack.
Extended symptom-free periods in some patients are in contrast with persistent daily problems in others.
Usually you would have mild asthma episode that lasts for few minutes to hours. Severe episodes require immediate medical attention. Just before the beginning of an asthma episode a person can get the clue that his asthma goes in wrong direction. He starts to cough, easily loose his breath, feels tired and weak he might wheeze, becomes moody, loosing good sleep. He may also experience other health problems like respiratory infections, sneezing, runny nose, and sore throat.
It’s time to get some precautions as prescribed by your doctor.
Worsening asthma will include: cough day and night long, strong wheezing, chest tightness, shortness of breath and more important decreasing response to bronchodilators (inhalers).
Life-threatening episode brings severe wheezing when you inhale as well as exhale air, non-stop cough, short and rapid breaths, pressure in chest, pain. Muscles of neck become tight. Any talk is a tantamount task. Panic, paleness, profuse sweating and cyanosis (bluishness) of lips and fingertips develop.
The attack causes lung airways to become swollen. The tiny muscles in airway passages tighten. Mucus clogs the bronchi.
To diagnose asthma doctors check of lung function and look for allergies. The patient history gives the clue about the disease - all that night coughing chest tightness, wheezing, and persistent colds. Family and occupational history helps as well.
Testing methods include different equipment, One is spirometry and lung functions test that measures airflow.
To treat asthma, avoid an attack and triggers
Take medicine as prescribed.
Make a plan with your doctor about the diasease management
And watch out.
You may get plans form American Academy of Family Physicians
Also look CDC http://www.cdc.gov/asthma
Our symptom checker is http://www.symptomat.com
| | Author: | Aleksandr Kavokin, MD, PhD | | System: | Lungs | | Subject: | Asthma | | Abstract: | Asthma does not show the same symptoms in every patient. Some have all of the symptoms, others have just few. The symptoms vary from one asthma attack to another attack. | | Website: | http://www.symptomat.com | | Time: | 15:59 | | Reference: | http://www.kavokin.com | | Reference 2: | http://www.rdoctor.com |
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Articles by Aleksandr Kavokin, MD, PhD
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