Everything You Need To Know About Asthma

Currently, around the globe, one of the major respiratory and breathing problems is the issue of asthma. Around the world, there are patients with asthma who belong to different age categories. In this article, we are going to give you an overview of asthma. So let’s begin…

What is asthma?

Asthma is a specific respiratory and breathing condition that affects the way you breathe. A patient suffering from asthma attacks will have narrowing airways and pathways which causes a lack of breath inside the patient.

During the time a patient is suffering from an asthma attack their airways would get inflamed due to the formation of mucus along the inner linings. Eventually, due to this the amount of air reaching the lungs would be less causing the patient to have bouts of breathlessness, coughing, sneezing, wheezing, or chest pain.

Asthma primarily may have many causes such as being allergic to certain vapors or fumes. It may also occur due to dust and pollution present in the air. At times even genetic factors may trigger asthma and pass to you next generation.

Symptoms and Causes

There are many causes why a patient may suffer from an asthma attack. When you have identified any external substance that triggers asthma in a patient it is referred to as an allergen. An allergen is a specific substance that is present in the surroundings of an asthma patient and could trigger asthma attacks.

Below we have mentioned some of the most common allergens that could trigger symptoms of asthma in a patient. When you are consulting with the doctors you need to specifically identify and inform the types of allergens which triggers asthma symptoms in you. needless to say different and more than one allergen type could trigger asthma symptoms in patients. 

·         Allergies

• Being allergic to a specific thing could cause asthma conditions. many times it is seen that asthma patients are allergic to specific drugs food items or even fluid substances like water or juices.
• Taking in such substances or even inhaling their smell triggers conditions of asthma.

·         Environmental factors

• One of the largest reasons why more and more people around the globe are increasingly prone to asthma issues is the ever-degrading environment.
• There are many allergens present in the air and even water or soil. Various dust particles, harmful gases, and other airborne substances could act as allergens and trigger asthma symptoms inside a patient.
• It could be dust, vehicular emissions, fog, pollens, or even fumes of certain chemicals that could trigger asthma conditions in patients.

·         Genetics

• As we have said above genetic factors could be one of the issues why someone is having asthma symptoms.
• If a parent is suffering from asthma symptoms there is a probability that the same genes could even pass on to your children.

·         Respiratory infections

• Having respiratory infections that are viral or bacterial could trigger asthma symptoms.
• For example, when you suffer from hay fever, common cold cough, or other infections inside the airways it could trigger symptoms that are pretty similar to asthma conditions.

What are common asthma attack triggers?

Now, in this section, we are going to find out about the various triggers that act like asthma allergens and intimate the symptoms of asthma.

·         Air pollution

Pollution present in the air includes harmful gases, factory and vehicular emissions, smog, and other airborne particles such as asbestos dust could trigger an asthma attack inside the patient. Air pollution is one of the largest and most common triggers of asthma in patients. 

·         Dust mites

Even mites and being under accidental contact with it or its eggs could trigger symptoms of asthma in patients.

·         Exercise

Exercising too much could even lead to causing sense of breathlessness and severe coughing which triggers asthma conditions.

·         Mold

Molds which commonly occur on hay, clothes and fabrics, and woods when kept in highly humid and wet areas could also possibly act as triggers of asthma.

·         Pests

It is possible that being under the exposure to certain pests could cause you to have asthma. Not only this, you may also suffer from asthma symptoms due to pesticides that control such pests.

·         Tobacco smoke

Tobacco smoke is one of the most common triggers of asthma. It is not only active smoking that may trigger asthma symptoms. But even passively smoking or being in the surroundings of smokers could trigger symptoms of asthma.

·         Strong chemicals or smells

Possibly asthma may be triggered inside a patient due to inhaling strong fumes or the smell of certain chemicals. It is highly common for men working in specific chemical adhesives and paints industry to develop such allergens causing asthma triggers over the years.

·         Certain occupational exposures

Working in certain industries such as coal mines, or in industries and factories where you are exposed to fumes of many chemicals and other substances could trigger an asthma attack although this is one of the rare issues.

What does asthma feel like?

• When you are having an asthma attack you feel the following symptoms-
• Breathlessness occurring gradually
• Wheezing or breathing through the mouth
• Chest pain due to lack of breath
• Severe coughing and sneezing
• Usually, any of these symptoms could occur and the patient needs to be immediately alert and follow precautionary measures such as using an inhaler as prescribed by the doctors.

How is asthma treated?

For curing asthma generally, there is no permanent way of curing it. you have to follow excessive precautions throughout your life. Apart from this, you will need to use inhalers as suggested by the doctors.

Avoid being in the surroundings of an environment that may contain an allergen substance that triggers asthma attacks. ensure proper immunization and vaccination during the changing seasons to avoid being affected with a common cold.

Asthma Medications

·         Asthma inhalers

There are various asthma inhalers available that help you to cure asthma attacks. Some of these are preventive inhalers and the others are emergency use inhalers.

·         Asthma nebulizer

These are also similar to inhalers which change the medicine contained in the container into liquid form to a fine mist that you have to inhale.

Bottom Line

So as you can see in this article we have detailed the reasons for possibly having asthma, its symptoms, and the ways of cure.