Asthma Symptoms and Causes

World Asthma Awareness and Prevention Day is celebrated on the first Tuesday of May every year. This year this day was celebrated on May 2 and its title is “Asthma care for All”.

Asthma is a chronic lung disease in medical science. It narrows the airways, making it difficult for the patient to breathe. In this disease, especially the two large tubes of the lungs, which help in breathing, become inflamed. As asthma is caused by the narrowing of the airways causing difficulty in breathing, wheezing and coughing occurs.

These disorders can also be caused by other diseases, so diagnosing it in infants is a bit difficult. If a child gets asthma, it can affect their lungs for life. When children have asthma, their airways also become very narrow. When this happens, the baby has difficulty breathing in and out of his lungs. In the case of an asthma problem, the following causes narrowing of the airways:

(1) The lining of the airways thickens and becomes inflamed.

(2) The muscles around the airways tighten, called bronchoconstriction.

(3) The respiratory tract produces a lot of clear, thick, liquid called mucus. This mucus is thicker than normal, blocking the airways.

In children, this disease sometimes continues into adulthood. Some of the symptoms of asthma are similar to those of allergies, but some people may not be able to distinguish between asthma symptoms and allergy symptoms. Undoubtedly, there are many reasons for this disease, but due to lack of awareness and due to lack of timely treatment, the disease worsens.

What is asthma?

Shortness of breath is a constant symptom. This is the most obvious difference between allergies and asthma. In asthma, the patient experiences a lot of difficulty in breathing, besides many of the symptoms are similar to allergies. In some patients, the asthma attack lasts for a long time but does not intensify, while in some patients, the asthma attack is severe once. does.

Symptoms

The first and major symptom of this disease is cough. The disease starts with a mild cough and this cough becomes severe. (2) Experiencing severe difficulty in breathing (3) Shortness of breath (4) Frequent coughing fits (5) Excessive urination (6) Excessive coughing at night (7) Difficulty in sleeping and restlessness. Although these symptoms are similar to allergies, a severe cough is cause for concern. In some patients, all these symptoms appear at the same time, while in some patients, the symptoms appear less. Timely treatment can prevent the disease from progressing.

Reasons

There is no single cause of this disease. However, asthma can occur in different people due to the following reasons: narrowing or malfunctioning of the airways, narrowing of the airways, narrowing of the airways of the lungs, besides asthma due to environmental pollution and environmental causes and habits. May be. This disease can also be caused by smoking, narcotic drugs, air pollution and weak immunity. This disease can also be caused by various diseases, some of which are as follows: tonsils, heart diseases, indigestion or stomach diseases, constipation, mental weakness or depression.

Types

Asthma is a chronic and potentially life-threatening disease in which inflammation of the lungs, increased mucus production causes difficulty breathing, chest tightness, coughing, etc. Most asthma starts in childhood, experts say. Both allergies and asthma can occur and develop at any age.

(1) Allergic asthma

This type occurs when asthma becomes too severe. The food that a person is allergic to also works as a poison in the body and aggravates asthma. People who keep cats too close can also develop asthma because cat hair triggers asthma. There is a strong association between proteins in milk and cheese that can trigger asthma. Gluten yeast and sugars can also be poison killers. First of all, doctors try to find out which food the patient is allergic to, this is done cautiously, the patient can tell himself which food aggravates the pain.

(2) Asthma without allergy

Asthma can occur even in people who are not affected by allergies.In normal asthma, some people get respiratory infections. Patients who have asthma without allergies should eat a clean diet of a variety of fruits, vegetables, and nuts. This will also give them a sense of whether they matter or not. If there is a difference, the pain increases, then it is allergic asthma.

(3) Aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease

This type is triggered by aspirin. Patients may experience runny nose, sneezing and aspirin sensitivity. When they take aspirin, they experience sneezing and nasal congestion, which causes wheezing and difficulty breathing.

(4) Exercise-induced asthma

Any kind of physical exertion or sports aggravates asthma symptoms, leading to coughing, shortness of breath and chest tightness. As soon as they stop laboring they feel better.

(5) Variations of cough

Asthma characterized by a dry cough. It can happen both while awake or asleep. It affects both adults and children. This type of asthma is difficult to diagnose. There are no symptoms other than a cough.

(6) Occupational asthma

An asthma attack occurs when there is something in the work environment that triggers asthma. Skin is affected, usually from inhaling irritants such as smoke or chlorine. It is not related to allergies. Occupations that work with chemicals such as paint or laboratory animals such as mice or rats can cause discomfort in the patient. Stay away from such things, such occupations to avoid these symptoms.

There are some other types of asthma, such as “Childhood Onset – Asthma”. This type of asthma usually starts in childhood. It is usually caused by an allergy to various substances found in the air. Common things that children are allergic to include cat hair, dust, dander, mosquito coils, etc. “Adulthood Onset – Asthma” is seen in people in their 20s and is usually more common in women.

Its causes are also different types of allergies. Apart from this, sometimes chemicals and certain medicines can also cause this type of asthma. “Noctural asthma” usually starts around midnight and lasts until around 8 p.m. It is caused by dust, dirt, cat hair or respiratory disease. The patient suffers from snoring or shortness of breath at night and is restless with asthma almost all night, especially between two and four o’clock.

Causes and factors

According to an estimate, around 30 million people worldwide are suffering from this disease. Factors that spread this disease include air, environmental and air pollution, smoke, dust, cockroaches, cockroaches, cold air, exercise, lung or airway infection, cigarettes, or smoke from mosquito-killing chemicals, animal waste, perfume. , air fresheners, paint, certain medications, depression and use of foods that contain sulfides.

Asthma Attack: A condition of asthma in which the patient’s symptoms worsen. This attack happens suddenly, its intensity can be low, medium or high. Sometimes, in asthma attacks, the airways become completely blocked and the flow of air stops completely, due to which the amount of carbon dioxide in the body increases and the amount of oxygen decreases.

appraisal

There are three basic ways to diagnose asthma: medical history, physical examination, and tests

(1) Medical history reveals the diagnosis of asthma, allergy information such as runny nose, respiratory infection, psychological stress, etc.

(2) Medical examination usually includes examination of respiratory tract, chest and skin, besides checking for runny nose, nasal inflammation, skin disease, eczema etc. which are related to asthma. .

(3) Liver function test, allergy test and spirometry test are recommended for diagnosis of asthma.

In medical science, homeopathy, etc., there are various treatments for asthma, which are prescribed by an experienced doctor based on the patient’s condition. But the severity of the disease can be controlled by being aware of this disease and taking necessary precautions.