Symptom | All About Breathing

The Symptoms and Treatment of Asthma

A person with asthma has airways in the lungs that have swollen and gotten inflamed resulting in a narrowing of the airways. Extra mucus is produced and breathing becomes difficult, causing an asthma attack.

The primary signs and symptoms of asthma include pain or tightness in the chest, shortness of breath, coughing or wheezing that causes problems breathing while sleeping during the night, an audible wheezing sound when exhaling and a respiratory virus such as the flu or a cold that aggravates the attacks of coughing or wheezing. These symptoms can be minor in which case there is little trouble breathing most of the time, wheezing is imperceptible and attacks are sporadic or more sever with attacks coming at night, during exercise or caused by certain triggers such as when the air is cold and dry. One can also experience no symptoms between attacks.

Treatment of asthma typically includes taking medication daily as well as using a quick-relief inhaler when an asthma attack occurs. The purpose of daily, long-term treatments is to reduce the inflammation in the airways so as to enable easier breathing. There are many types of medications and the one prescribed by a doctor is the one that is best suited for one’s symptoms. The most popular medication are inhaled corticosteroids that have a low risk of side effects and typically take several days to weeks of use before they become completely effective. Sometimes taken with inhaled corticosteroids are long-acting beta agonists which serve to reduce inflammation. Another treatment is a pill taken daily called Theophylline, which makes breathing easier by relaxing the muscles around the airways.

Filed Under: Asthma, Treatment Tagged With: Asthma, Symptom, Theophylline

Symptoms of Asthma

People suffering from asthma often have symptoms when their bronchitis tubes are swollen, narrowed, and filled with mucus. Some of the common symptoms include wheezing, coughing (mostly at night), chest pain or tightness, and shortness of breath. Every asthma sufferer will have different symptoms and it occurs in different ways. Some may have all the symptoms and some may have only few of the symptoms. The symptoms often tend to vary in their level from one period to another, in one period it may be mild or less intense and in another it may be very severe.

Some people experience the symptoms daily and some will experience once in a while. Also, some people will experience when they are exposed to allergens, doing heavy exercises, or viral infections in the respiratory tract. Mild asthma symptoms are very common and the tube gets cleared in few minutes, while severe asthma period lasts longer and often a person should take the medical help. Therefore, it is very important to identify the mild symptoms to prevent it getting severe.

Early warning signs can be identified during the initial stages of asthma. These early signs are not very severe and identifying these signs could prevent the asthma getting worse. Some of the early signs are feeling weak while exercising, shortness of breath, frequent coughing (especially at night), wheezing during exercise, changes or decline in the air flow, signs of allergies or infections, signs of cold, and finally trouble in sleeping.

Some of the symptoms of the worsened asthma are wheezing, frequent coughing, chest tightness, and breath shortness. The asthma get worsens when the early signs are not detected and left untreated. Some of the symptoms of the severe asthma condition are pale face, sweating, tightened neck muscles, rapid breathing, severe wheezing, blue fingernails, blue lips, difficulty in talking, anxiety, and difficulty in exhaling.

Filed Under: Asthma, Health Tagged With: Asthma, Dyspnea, Symptom

Get Asthma Help With an Insurance Plan

Asthma affects millions of people every day because it’s a common illness. Some of the symptoms include wheezing, shortness of breath, coughing and feeling the chest become tight. Regardless of how common it is, it is a very serious condition that requires a doctor’s help to keep it under control. With inhalers and nebulizers a person can help keep their symptoms under control and maintain a healthy life, but without insurance this can be more difficult due to costs of seeing a doctor and getting your prescriptions filled. It is almost essential that you have a good insurance plan to ensure that you can keep safe and healthy if you have asthma.

It’s not hard to find a good insurance plan and with online insurance quotes, it can be even easier because you’re able to compare costs, compare plans and basically find the best options for you and your family.

Even if you feel that you have your asthma under control, emergencies can come up and a trip to the emergency room can be costly without the benefits of a good health insurance plan. Not only can a medical insurance plan help with doctor visits and prescriptions but imagine the savings you’d have if you or a loved one has to go in the hospital or even visit an emergency room. With having an insurance plan, you can go see your doctor on a regular basis in order to control your asthma and you can save on filling your prescriptions. Then if you need it in case of an emergency, it’s there to ensure that you don’t have to pay it all out of your own pocket; that’s peace of mind we can all use. Don’t wait until you need it to get health insurance because then it can be too late. Take care of it first and feel safer knowing you have a back up plan.

Filed Under: Conditions and Diseases, Health Tagged With: Asthma, Dyspnea, Health, Health insurance, Inhaler, Insurance, Symptom, Wheeze

Causes and Symptoms of Adult-Onset Asthma

Asthma has become a huge health concern in recent decades. It has become more common not only in children, but adults as well. Even adults with no prior history of breathing problems are suddenly finding themselves needing to have an inhaler around at all times. Adult-onset asthma has several primary causes and manifests in a few different ways.

Adult-onset asthma tends to occur in a few select populations. Women with sudden hormonal changes often find themselves wheezing and short of breath. Typically, this means that women who are going through menopause or pregnancy are prone to asthma. Women that are taking estrogen supplements due to menopause are also susceptible to adult-onset asthma.

People who have weak immune systems and are constantly exposed to illnesses like the cold and flu are at higher risk for adult-onset asthma. Avoiding allergens and irritants after a cold or flu can help the immune system recover. Similar to childhood asthma, there is a correlation between allergies and asthma. Approximately one-half of adults with asthma are also affected by allergies. In adults, there is a particularly strong correlation between asthma and an allergy to cats.

Certain environmental factors can also cause adult-onset asthma. Smoke from cigarettes, certain perfumes, and mold are strongly linked to asthma. The presence of these irritants may cause the development of asthma as well as individual asthma attacks.

Unfortunately, most of these triggers cannot be avoided. Adults can avoid smoking, try to keep their home free of mold, and avoid irritants to minimize their risk. However, there is little to be done about allergies, menopause, and a weak immune system.

If adult-onset asthma is suspected, a trip to the doctorâ€™s office is essential. They can do a number of tests to diagnose asthma and start a course of treatment to minimize the effects of asthma.

Filed Under: Asthma, Health Tagged With: Allergy, Asthma, Conditions and Diseases, Dyspnea, Health, Immune system, Symptom, Wheeze

Different Types of Asthma

The various types of asthma make it a complex illness that is not very easy to treat. Each type of asthma has different causes, symptoms, and treatments.

Occupational asthma is a variety of asthma that is either caused or exacerbated by irritants and conditions in the workplace. Itâ€™s fairly common, with about 20% of adult-onset asthma cases being due to occupational hazards. Unfortunately, very few people report it or even recognize it as an occupational hazard. This type of asthma tends to occur in factory settings, particularly in fabricators, manual laborers, and machine operators. Occupational asthma also is found in office settings, where irritants like dust, mold, and allergens tend to live.

Exercise-induced asthma is a type of asthma that is becoming more and more common. One common misconception is that exercise-induced asthma occurs only in those who arenâ€™t very athletic or fit. However, exercise-induced asthma is most widespread in professional athletes. It is fairly common Olympic athletes have this type of asthma, possibly due to the intense training they undergo. Exercise-induced asthma is also frequently diagnosed in high school athletes, particularly those in endurance sports like cross-country running, bicycling, and skiing. This type of asthma often requires treatment as long as the exercise that brought it on continues.

Brittle asthma refers to two varieties of asthma. The first type is characterized by wide peak flow variability, which means that the airflow during asthma attacks varies. The second type of brittle asthma has occasional severe asthma attacks with well-controlled periods between attacks. In both types of asthma, asthma attacks arenâ€™t completely eradicated; they can only be treated when they occur.

Getting diagnosed with the correct type of asthma is the first step to getting correct treatment. Seeing a respiratory specialist can be very helpful, as they can accurately diagnose asthma and establish an effective treatment plan.

Filed Under: Asthma, Health Tagged With: Allergy, Asthma, Conditions and Diseases, Exercise-induced asthma, Health, Physical exercise, Respiratory Disorders, Symptom

Causes and Treatment of Exercise-Induced Asthma

Exercise-induced asthma, one of the most commonly diagnosed asthma varieties, is still a mystery in many ways. As evidenced by its name, everyone knows that asthma attacks are caused by exercise. However, there is still some question as to what causes the illness to develop.

An exercise-induced asthma attack typically occurs when breathing through the mouth is required to continue getting enough air. When breathing through the nose, the air is typically warm and moist when it enters the airways. However, the same cannot be said for mouth breathing; the air is still cold and dry, and that change can be enough to cause obstruction and inflammation of the airways. After the asthma attack subsides, there tends to be few or no symptoms for about an hour, at which point the asthmatic is again prone to an attack.

This type of asthma is often responsible for mild to moderate asthma attacks marked by wheezing, coughing, and rapid breathing. However, people with allergies and exercise-induced asthma may suffer from very severe asthma attacks. This is particularly true when it is hot out, since there tends to be lots of allergens in the air.

There are several ways of treating and avoiding the effects of exercise-induced asthma. About twenty minutes before beginning exercise, doctors recommend that asthmatics take a beta agonist. Corticosteroids can also be helpful when taken in this manner. The most effective way to treat exercise-induced asthma is to prevent attacks. Training programs can be altered for asthmatic athletes to avoid triggering an asthma attack. Additionally, athletes should avoid exercising when allergens and extreme heat are prevalent.

Once itâ€™s determined that someone has exercise-induced asthma, they can tackle it aggressively. Creating a treatment plan that allows for continued exercise helps keep asthma under control while letting athletes keep doing what they love most.

Filed Under: Asthma, Health Tagged With: Asthma, Conditions and Diseases, Exercise-induced asthma, Health, Physical exercise, Respiratory Disorders, Shopping, Symptom

Varieties of Asthma Medication

As asthma becomes a common ailment, more and more asthma medications have been hitting the market to try to help asthma sufferers control and prevent their asthma attacks. There are two main types of asthma medications. Rescue asthma medicine is the type that you use when you are having an asthma attack. Its goal is to stop an asthma attacks and the symptoms that accompany it, including wheezing and an inability to breathe. It acts as a cure for each asthma attack, rather than prevention.

On the other hand, you have controller asthma medication. This variety of medication acts to prevent asthma attacks from happening, thereby minimizing the need for rescue medication.

Most medications for asthma must be inhaled. The most prominent type of asthma medication is inhaled steroids. Inhaled steroids are anti-inflammatory, so they work long-term to control and prevent asthma attacks.

Beta agonists are a good option for controlling asthma symptoms and giving asthmatics control over their asthma attacks. If asthma attacks are not properly controlled by inhaled steroids, long acting beta agonists can help minimize the occurrence of asthma attacks. They are used in conjunction with quick-acting inhalers. Short acting beta agonists are often used with long acting beta agonists.

Asthmatics should always have their short acting beta agonist medication with them; itâ€™s usually in the form of an inhaler. The most common one is albuterol. Using long acting beta agonists daily to minimize symptoms while using a short acting beta agonist as needed is a good asthma control strategy.

Although there are many types of steroids and beta agonists to consider, the best source for an asthma control plan is your doctor. They can look at your symptoms and the frequency of your attacks to help you decide what medications to take and how often you should take them.

Filed Under: Asthma, Health Tagged With: Acting, Asthma, Beta-adrenergic agonist, Beta2-adrenergic agonist, Conditions and Diseases, Pharmaceutical drug, Steroid, Symptom

How Lives Are Saved Through Asthma Education

Many people are not able to identify the true symptoms of asthma. Symptoms are often thought to be just a wheezing or difficulty breathing. The truth is there are many different symptoms of asthma and not all have to be present for someone to have an asthma attack. It is important for everyone to be educated about the signs and symptoms of asthma so that they will be able to identify if someone is having an asthma attack and be able to get them the help they need.

When someone is beginning to have an asthma attack they will feel their airway begin to tighten, their airway may become inflamed, or become filled with mucus. This will be something that will happen very quickly. Once the symptoms begin to kick in the person will feel a shortness of breath, a pain or tightness in their chest, wheezing, and even coughing that could lead to them losing consciousness. An asthma attack can be caused by allergies in the air, a perfume, or even vigorous captivity. Even someone is asthmatic they may need to take breaks more frequently than someone who is not. Being sure to give them the time they need is important.

Even someone is having an asthma attack they may need medication depending on how bad the attack is. Many asthmatics carry inhalers with them so that they can instantly get relief. If the medication does not work or they do not have the medication with them, it is important to immediately get them medical attention. When someone is having an asthma attack they are not able to breathe well and may not be able to vocalize what is going on. Take the initiative and do what feels right. Helping someone during an asthma attack could be the difference between saving their life and watching them die.