Asthma

Allergies are a major cause of asthma, a condition that occurs in about 8% of all people. Though it can occur at any age, it is most often seen in males in the pre-teen years and in females in the teenage years; asthma is the most common chronic disease in children and young adults. Sometimes asthma is difficult to diagnose in very young children, and may require a physician who is an asthma specialist.

Symptoms of asthma may include:

• Coughing — This can be the only symptom in some people who have “cough-variant asthma.” The cough is often dry, hacking, and may be worse with allergic triggers and after exercise. The cough may only be present at night. Cold air may also trigger this symptom.
• Wheezing — This is a high-pitched, musical-like sound that can occur with breathing in and out in people with asthma. Wheezing usually occurs along with other asthma symptoms, may get worse with exercise and with allergic triggers.
• Shortness of breath — Most people with asthma feel as if they’re not getting enough air at times, particularly when they are physically exerting themselves or when an allergic trigger is present. People with more severe asthma have shortness of breath at rest or wake-up with this symptom during the night.
• Chest tightness — Some people describe this as a sensation that someone is squeezing or hugging them. Children may say that their chest hurts or feels “funny.”

Many asthmatics have symptoms with exercise; this does not necessarily mean that their asthma is severe or uncontrolled.

Find out more about:

• Basics of Asthma
• Living with Asthma
• Is Your Asthma Controlled?

Diagnosis

The diagnosis of asthma is suggested by the presence of asthma symptoms; however, spirometry is needed to make a firm diagnosis. Spirometry can easily be performed in people 5 years and older. It may show a specific pattern in a person with asthma, which can make the diagnosis more concrete. For example, someone with asthma may display a certain increase in lung function after using a bronchodilator, such as Albuterol.

If the diagnosis of asthma is still in question despite performing spirometry, asthma specialists can perform additional tests to determine if a person has asthma. These include bronchoprovocation (causing a drop of lung function with the inhalation of certain chemicals, such as methacholine) and measurements of markers of inflammation in exhaled air, sputum, blood and urine.

Treatment

In general, there are 2 types of asthma medications: rescue and controller medicines. Most asthmatics require both medications. Rescue medicines are those that are taken as needed. This means that these medicines should be carried by the person with asthma, since an asthma attack can never be predicted. Rescue medicines help relax the muscle around the airways for a few hours, but they do not help the inflammation and swelling of the airways.

Controller medicines are those medicines that are taken every day (sometimes multiple times a day), regardless of asthma symptoms. These medicines are taken all of the time in order to control the inflammation and swelling of the airways. This leads to less irritation and constriction of the muscles around the airways and, therefore, less asthma symptoms. These medicines usually take a few days to weeks to start working. A person with asthma then notices that less and less rescue medicine is needed.