Asthma: Causes, Symptoms and Treatments

Asthma (Az-muh) is a chronic disease that affects your airways. The airways are the tubes that carry air in and out of your lungs. If you have asthma, the inside walls of your airways are inflamed (swollen). The inflammation (IN-fla-MAY-shun) makes the airways very sensitive, and they tend to react strongly to things that you are allergic to or find irritating. When the airways react, they get narrower, and less air flows through to your lung tissue. This causes symptoms like wheezing (a whistling sound when you breathe), coughing, chest tightness, and trouble breathing, especially at night and in the early morning.

Causes Of Asthma

Asthma is caused by a complex interaction of genetic and environmental factors that researchers do not fully understand yet.[6] These factors can also influence how severe a person’s asthma is and how well they respond to medication.[7] As with other complex diseases, many genetic and environmental factors have been suggested as causes of asthma, but not all of them have been replicated. In addition, as researchers detangle the complex causes of asthma, it is becoming more evident that certain environmental and genetic factors may only affect asthma when combined.

Dietary changes: changes in diet in Western countries, such as a high proportion of processed foods, a higher salt intake, a lower antioxidant intake and a lack of fresh oily fish (lower intake of omega-3 fatty acids) may contribute to the development of asthma.

Genetic factors: asthma tends to run in families, and many people with asthma also have other allergic conditions such as rhinitis (inflammation of the nose lining). "Allergy" is a hypersensitivity to some proteins foreign to the body; a small dose of the "allergen" will produce a violent reaction in the person concerned.

Signs and Symptoms Of Asthma

Different people have different signs and symptoms of asthma. Asthma signs and symptoms are also variable - they can change over time or depending on the situation. Breathing problems can be caused by different conditions. If you have these signs and symptoms, or if you think you might have asthma, see your doctor.

Treatments and drugs

Asthma cannot be cured, but it can be controlled with proper asthma management.

The first step in asthma management is environmental control. Asthmatics cannot escape the environment, but through some changes, they can control its impact on their health.

Treatment for asthma generally involves avoiding the things that trigger your asthma attacks and taking one or more asthma medications. Treatment varies from person to person.

Most people with persistent asthma use a combination of long-term control medications and quick-relief medications, taken with a hand-held inhaler.

If your asthma symptoms are triggered by airborne allergens, such as pollen or pet dander, you may also need allergy treatment.

An asthma action plan can make it easier to understand which medication is best for your child in different situations. If you aren't sure which asthma treatment is best for your child, review your asthma action plan. If you don't have an asthma action plan, either ask your doctor for one or consider seeing a Pediatric Pulmonologist for further management and asthma education.