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Archive for the ‘Asthma’ Category

Asthma triggers should not be confused with causes of asthma which are not exactly known. Exposure to triggers which greatly vary from person to person provokes an asthma attack or worsens the symptoms of asthma. For that reason successful asthma treatment requires identification and avoidance of triggers.

Asthma triggers are identified with one or more trigger identification tests as well as with allergy tests because people who suffer from asthma are more likely to have one or more allergies. As already mentioned earlier, asthma triggers greatly vary from person to person but in most cases asthma attacks are provoked by exposure to various allergens and irritants, respiratory infections, exercise, stress and even weather. The most common asthma triggers are:
- dust mite
- cockroach
- perfumes and perfumed products such as air fresheners, laundry detergents, hair gels, cologne, shaving creams and lotions, etc.
- animal hair and dander
- pollen
- tobacco smoke
- various air pollutants and industrial compounds
- certain foods, especially milk, eggs and nuts
- mold spores
- exercise
- cold weather
- respiratory infections
- certain medications
- stress

Trigger avoidance is as much important as taking asthma medications for successful asthma treatment. By avoiding the factors which trigger asthma attack you will not only prevent asthma attacks but stop worsening of asthma symptoms as well. Considering severe asthma can be life-threatening you are highly recommended to get it under control while still having mild symptoms even if it means you have to give your pet up for adoption.

Asthma can affect everyone at any age but it most commonly occurs in childhood. Even more, asthma has become the most common chronic disease in children. Childhood asthma is characterized by inflamed and constricted airways, like the adult asthma. Like the latter, childhood asthma cannot be cured but can be successfully treated.

The first signs of childhood asthma usually occur in children less than 3 years of age and are similar to those in adult asthma:
- coughing
- wheezing
- shortness of breath
- chest pain
- chest tightness

Symptoms, their severity and frequency greatly vary from child to child and only about one third of children with respiratory problems who are younger than 3 years of age are diagnosed with asthma. However, if your child has asthma-like symptoms you are highly recommended to make an appointment at your health care provider or pediatrician as soon as possible.

Treatment of childhood asthma is no different to treatment of adult asthma. It is crucial to identify the triggers and make sure your child is not exposed to the triggers or to reduce the exposure to the minimum. Medications for childhood asthma include the same long-term-control and quick-relief medications for asthma as for the adult asthma with doses for children. Asthma medications in younger children must be administered by their parents, while both the parents and children must be properly educated about proper of inhaler.

Asthma cannot be cured nor successfully controlled only with trigger avoidance. People suffering from asthma usually need to take one or several asthma medications depending from case to case. Asthma medications can be generally divided into long-term-control medications and quick-relief medications for asthma. The first are used to prevent asthma attacks, while the second group of medications are used to reduce or stop asthma attack symptoms in progress.

Long-term-control medications for asthma are anti-inflammatory drugs which are prescribed to prevent the symptoms and worsening of asthma. They need to be taken daily on long term basis even when not having symptoms of asthma. Most commonly prescribed and effective long-term-control medications for asthma are inhaled corticosteroids. Other long-term medications for asthma which are prescribed according to the asthma severity are also long-acting beta-2 agonists, leukotriene modifiers, cromolyn and nedocromil, theophylline and antihistamines. The effect of long-tern-control medications for asthma is noticed after several days, while optimal results are achieved after several months. Long-term-control medications for asthma are not appropriate for asthma attack relief.

Sudden asthma attacks are relieved or prevented with quick-relief medications for asthma, commonly known as bronchodilators and sometimes also as “rescue” medications. Bronchodilators such as short-acting beta-2 agonists, anticholinergic medications (ipratropium) and oral corticosteroids are used only when having an asthma attack or having the early symptoms of asthma attack.

Asthma control commonly requires treatment with asthma medications but severity and frequency of the asthma symptoms mostly depend on patient’s willingness to take more responsibility for their health. In addition to asthma medications it is highly important to avoid or eliminate asthma triggers even if it means giving your pet up for adoption.

Besides the standard asthma control measures and medications many people also try to improve their condition with various home remedies and alternative approaches. Scientific researches of both efficacy and safety of many alternative asthma treatments are inconclusive but great number of people claim they improved their condition with the following approaches:
- Breading exercises. The Buteyko and Yoga breathing techniques are among the most popular breathing exercises and are believed to be very helpful in asthma attack control as well as to reduce both frequency and severity of asthmatic episodes.
- Healthy diet. You can only benefit if eating more healthy foods and avoiding those which might trigger an allergic reaction. To increase lung function are commonly recommended foods high in vitamins C and E, magnesium, essential fatty acids, beta-carotene, selenium and flavonoids.
- Exercise. Moderate exercise for at least 30 minutes for most days of the week improves lung function. If being physically inactive for a longer period or if suffering from severe asthma you are highly recommended to consult with your health care provider.
- Herbal remedies. There are several herbs which are believed to be helpful for asthma such as echinacea, coltsfoot, thyme ands some others. Before using any herbal remedies keep in mind that herbs can cause different more or less severe side effects and interact with medications.

Asthma medications are commonly taken with inhalers, devices which deliver a specific dose of medication directly in the lungs to prevent or relieve an asthma attack. There are two basic types of asthma inhalers. Which one to choose greatly depends on prescribed medication – some medications are available only with certain type of inhaler, the patient’s needs and severity of asthma.

Metered-dose inhaler is the most widely used type of asthma inhalers. It consists of pressurized canister with medication and a mouthpiece, while the medication is released by pressing the top of the canister. Some metered-dose inhalers come with counters which tell you how many doses remain until you run out of medication. If not having a counter it is necessary to keep track on used doses of medication on your own to make sure you get prescription for a refill before you run out of medication. Some metered-dose inhaler can also feature a spacer which reduces the pace of released medication which gives more time to inhale and increasing the amount of inhaled medication. Metered-dose inhaler with spacer is commonly recommended to people who have difficulties with use of a regular metered-dose inhaler and to patients who use corticosteroids inhalers.

Less commonly used are dry powder inhalers which deliver medication to the lungs in the form of dry powder and require deep inhalation. This type of inhaler is not appropriate for children and people with severe asthma.

When the airways in the lung are constricted and inflamed commonly when being exposed to triggers a patient gets an asthma attack: wheezing, shortness of breath, coughing, chest tightness or pain, and increased expiratory and pulse rate. Symptoms, severity and frequency of asthma attacks greatly vary from patient to patient ranging from mild wheezing to severe asthmatic episodes which may lead to respiratory arrest and death if not receiving immediate medical assistance.

Asthma is commonly classified into four categories according to frequency and severity of asthma attacks:
- mild intermittent; symptoms are mild and rare – up to twice per week and up to two nights per night
- mild persistent; mild symptoms occur more than twice per week but once per day
- moderate persistent; daily asthma attacks and one nighttime episode per week
- severe persistent; daily asthma attacks and frequent at night

The majority of people suffer from mild to moderate asthma which does not affect quality of life and daily activities under condition if recognized and treated early. Otherwise severity and frequency of asthma attacks might worsen. It is highly important to visit your health care provider as soon as experiencing the early signs of asthma or early signs or asthma worsening (see article Symptoms of Asthma) and to identify triggers. Avoidance of exposure to triggers is crucial for asthma control as well as for preventing of asthma worsening. It is important to be aware that exposure to triggers does not only provoke an asthma attack but can also lead to asthma worsening. However, triggers avoidance is usually insufficient for asthma control which commonly also requires one or more asthma medications depending from person to person.

There is no cure for asthma but it is highly important to treat it as soon as possible. Asthma treatment greatly varies from person to person and severity of asthma but it always features trigger avoidance and taking one or several asthma medications.

It is always better to prevent than to cure and that is especially true for asthma. It is highly important to identify what triggers asthma attacks and to avoid exposure to triggers. For example, if the test have shown asthma attacks are triggered by house dust mites you are highly recommended to throw away all carpets and soft floor covering and replace them with hard or wood covering. Regularly clean your couch, mattress and all padded furniture with a vacuum cleaner. You are also highly recommended to use anti allergy bedding and a moisture absorber because the dust mites love the moisture. If you are allergic to animal hair you should probably seriously consider giving your pet up for adoption.

Trigger avoidance which is crucial in asthma treatment is in most cases insufficient for successful asthma control because it is virtually impossible to eliminate exposure to triggers. The majority of people also require one or several asthma medications depending from patient to patient. People suffering from persistent asthma are usually prescribed both long-term-control and quick-relief medications for asthma, while asthma attacks triggered by allergens commonly also require allergy treatment either in a form of taking allergy medications or by receiving immunotherapy.

Unlike triggers which provoke the asthma attack, asthma causes are not exactly known. However, due to the fact that asthma is prevalent in the developed countries – 7% of the population of the United States suffer from asthma some theories are more probable than the others. Factors which might be the main causes are generally divided into environmental, genetic and combination of both.

Health experts have no answer why some people get asthma and the others do not. Researches have shown that genetic predispositions are greater in some people than in the others. It is believed that people who have a family history of asthma as well as of atopic diseases and allergies are more likely to get asthma.

Due to highest incidence of asthma in developed countries experts believe that asthma is caused by some environmental factors. Risk of asthma is greatly increased in people living in urban environment, being exposed to air pollutants such as smog or tobacco smoke, to various chemicals and living in too “sterile” environment during the early childhood. So-called hygiene hypothesis claims that people who are not exposed to certain amount of pathogens during their early childhood are more likely to be affected by various allergies as well as by asthma because the immune system cannot tell the difference between harmful pathogens and harmless antigens. Other most common risk factors are antibiotic use in early childhood, frequent respiratory infections in early age, obesity and stress.

Asthma affects millions of people worldwide, while asthma prevalence is greater in the developed countries. It is characterized by asthma attacks severity of which greatly varies from person to person. People with milder form of asthma have mild asthma attacks such as occasional wheezing and function completely normally between the asthma episodes, while people suffering from sever asthma require immediate medical assistance when having an asthma attack.

Symptoms of asthma occur when a person has narrowed or inflamed airways – when having an asthma attack. The severity, frequency and symptoms greatly vary from patient to patient. The most common signs and symptoms of asthma include one or more of the following symptoms:
- wheezing
- coughing
- shortness of breath
- chest tightness or pressure
- chest pain

The mentioned symptoms are experienced very differently from person to person as well as from one asthma attack to another. Before an asthma episode occur early warning signs which can stop an episode or/and worsening of asthma if recognized and treated early enough. The most common early asthma signs:
- frequent cough especially at night
- shortness of breath when being physically active
- tiredness or weakness after exercise
- decreased peak expiratory flow rate
- trouble sleeping
- symptoms of cold, respiratory infection or allergies

In addition to early asthma symptoms there are also signs of asthma worsening:
- persistent cough
- shortness of breath
- chest tightness
- increased heart rate
- fall of peak expiratory flow rate
- increased need to use bronchodilators to open the airways

If asthma keeps getting worse there is a great risk respiratory arrest and death if not receiving immediate medical assistance.

Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease which affects 7% of population of the United States of both genders and all ages. It is characterized by inflammation and constriction of the airways in the lungs (bronchi) which cause asthma attacks severity of which ranges from minor wheezing to severe asthma attacks which may lead to respiratory arrest and death.

The number of people suffering from asthma is rapidly growing especially in western developed countries. The reasons for rapidly increasing prevalence of asthma in the developed world are not exactly known and there are several different explanations. Due to improved living conditions and hygiene many people are less exposed to pathogens during early childhood which can later trigger excessive immune response even to harmless antigens such pollen, animal hair, dust, etc. Researches have also shown that antibiotic use in early childhood greatly increases risk of asthma as well. Besides environmental causes asthma can be also caused by genetic factors.

Asthma cannot be cured but it can be successfully controlled. If left untreated it can greatly affect the quality of life and in severest cases be even life-threatening. Asthma treatment usually bases on prevention which features avoidance of asthma triggers which greatly vary from person to person, while asthma control often also requires asthma medications for long term control, for quick-relief or for allergy induced asthma. Successful asthma control also greatly depends on patient’s education. There are many asthma education centers which provide all the necessary information and direction how to manage asthma.