What Asthma Is

Allergic Asthma This article is a continuation from each description of the Types Of Asthma Allergic asthma or extrinsic asthma (not part of the essential nature of someone or something; coming or operating from outside) is the most common form of asthma among all the asthma types. Allergic asthma from it’s self explanatory word, results from an allergic reaction. Our immune system normally exists to fight off infection. In allergic asthma, however, your body senses allergens(a substance that causes an allergic reaction), which would normally be harmless, as a foreign body and mounts an attack against them. This immune attack can lead to asthma symptoms. Allergic Asthma Symptoms Many of the symptoms of allergic asthma and non-allergic asthma are similar and include:-  Wheezing Chest tightness Shortness of breath Chronic cough Allergic asthma symptoms can be triggered by:-  Most smokes i.e tobacco smoke Animal dander(Skin flakes in an animal’s fur or ...

This article is a continuation from each description of the Types Of Asthma: Occupational asthma Dental hygienists – latex Bakers – flour Roofers, insulators and painters – isocyanates (a salt or ester of isocyanic acid) – toluene (a colorless liquid hydrocarbon present in coal tar and petroleum and used as a solvent and in organic synthesis) Welders and metal workers – metals (nickel, platinum and chromic acid) Plastic manufacturers – glues and resins Farmers and veterinarians – animal proteins Carpenters – wood dust  Workplace exposure to substances that may directly irritate your lungs or lead to an immune response    Develop sensitization* to the exposure Resulting inflammation of upper and lower airways Development of symptoms Exposure continues nor stopped Persistence of symptoms or clinical improvement  Peak Expiratory Flow Rate : Repeated PEFR are the most common method to determine if a particular antigen is the cause of occupat...

This article is a continuation from each description of the Types Of Asthma: When you have Nocturnal Asthma (occurring, or active at night), your FEV1 (Forced Expiratory Volume in one second; the volume that a subject can exhale in the first second during a forced expiration test – esp.done by a spirometry – decreases by at least 15% from bedtime to getting up in the morning in patients with asthma. For some people, the decline in lung function can be significantly more and this is all associated with increased symptoms, such as cough, wheezing and shortness of breath that disrupt sleep. Patients with large nighttime changes in their FEV1 may also have more daytime symptoms. Diagnosis Of Nocturnal Asthma Diagnosing nocturnal asthma is by taking a bedtime peak flow and a peak flow when you wake up.If there is more than a 15% difference in your peak flow, you have significant variability that may be the cause of your symptoms. But, peak flow meters are not very sensitive to ...

Cough Variant Asthma This article is a continuation from each description of the Types Of Asthma. Symptoms Of Cough Variant Asthma While normal cough may follow the usual symptoms associated with asthma in Cough Variant Asthma but cough alone may be a precursor(a thing that comes before another of the same kind; a forerunner) to or the sole symptom in an asthmatic. So when cough is the only asthma symptom, this is known as Cough Variant (a form or version of something that differs in some respect from other forms of the same thing or from a standard) Asthma or CVA. Basically,the main symptom of CVA is a chronic, non-productive cough. CV Asthma patients have cough as the main or the only symptom of their asthma. CVA type of asthmatic patients are a small percentage of total asthma patients. CVA patients are, however, a distinct group rather than only being thought of as coughing asthmatics. However,CVA patients have some differences from patients with typical asthma. ...

Medication Induced Asthma This article is the final continuation from each description of the Types Of Asthma:- Medication Induced Asthma or Aspirin Induced Asthma: – Aspirin, most people don’t think twice about taking an aspirin under the prescription accordingly and it’s correct usage esp. when they have a headache,but for some people with inclusive of asthma, this unknown action can be fatal. Aspirin and other Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory DrugS* or NSAIDS – such as ibuprofen ,naproxen and diclofenac – have been found to trigger asthma attacks in people who have asthma. The asthma attacks induced by aspirin and NSAIDS are mostly severe and can even be life threatening. The aspirin sensitivity generally increase as people age, and it is worse in people with more severe asthma. This symptoms has been recognized for many years, but it was unclear how many people with asthma faced a risk when taking these commonly used medications until further research were done on i...

Asthma is in fact one of the common disorders that can develop in the period of pregnancy. It is also one of the most serious disorders that can develop during pregnancy. Since it is state where the hampering of the most vital process of respiration is concerned it should never be neglected and adequate measures should be taken to relieve the situation. There is no evidence that suggests any increase in incidents of spontaneous abortions or development of congenital deformities in pregnant ladies with asthmatic condition. Generally the available statistics show that the asthmatic ladies who get pregnant have worsening of their disease in about one-third of the cases.  Anther one-third patients show no changes in their conditions and the last one-third show signs of getting better. It is a very rare incident that an asthma patient has complications due to her condition while child birth. In most situations women return to their normal condition of the disease in between ...

Asthma is a common breathing difficulty condition among most people all over the world. The common asthma symptoms would include wheezing, coughing and tightness of the chest. There are situations when asthma is also called reactive airway disease or bronchial asthma. Asthma is more common in children compared to adults. If they are treated early and well, both adults and children can live well.  SYMPTOMS OF ASTHMA There are minor and severe symptoms that can vary from every individual. Some may have infrequent attacks of asthma, which means that they can have symptoms only at certain times like when having exercises. There are some people who may also have asthma attacks more frequently. Some of the most common symptoms of asthma would include: Pain or tightness of the chest Shortness of one’s breath A wheezing or a whistling sound when the person is exhaling. For children, the most common asthma sign would be wheezing. Sleeping troubles due to coughing, shortness o...