Health Information : Asthma

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What is Asthma?

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease in which the airways of your lungs swell and become narrow. It makes breathing difficult for the patient and results in periodic attacks of cough, wheezing, chest tightness and shortness of breath.

What CausesAsthma?

When a person suffers from an asthma attack, the lining of his air passage swells and the muscles that surround the airways tightens. Due to this, air flow is restricted through the air passage causing difficulty in breathing.

Asthma triggers

Many people have sensitive airways and the asthma attack in them is triggered by breathing in certain substances called allergens, namely:

• Animals(pet dander or pet hair)
• Airborne substances like dust mites, pollen, mold, cockroach waste
• Respiratory infections like common cold
• Medications like asprin, ibuprofen & other NSAIDS
• Extreme change of weather, usually cold weather
• Certain preservatives added to food items such as shrimp, dried fruit, processed potatoes and beer
• Air pollutants like smoke
• Exercise
• Stress, anxiety and emotional trauma
• Smoking tobacco
• Perfumes or fragnances
• GERD- In this medical condition the acid formed in stomach regurgitates back to throat

What are the symptoms of Asthma?

Asthma attack in a patient can last for few minutes, hours or even days. When the air passage is severely blocked, the situation becomes dangerous and needs immediate medical attention. Some common symptoms of Asthma are:

• Cough with or without phlegm
• Shortness of breath
• Pain or tightness in chest
• Wheezing sound when exhaling (usually happens in children)
• Excessive cough that doesn’t let you sleep at night

There are some emergency symptoms when experienced by a patient needing immediate medical help, viz

• Extreme difficulty in breathing
• Lips and face turning blue
• Severe drowsiness during an asthma attack
• Sweating Fast pulse rate

How can Asthma be treated?

The best way to manage asthma attacks is prevention and long-term control. You must recognise your triggers and avoid them. Also, keep a check on your breathing patterns to ensure daily medications are keeping asthma symptoms under control. Asthma treatment usually involves

• Quick relief medications.
• Long-term asthma control medications