Health Network News

Asthma affects the lungs and makes breathing difficult or impossible. Approximately 22 million Americans are living with this. The condition has a serious impact on people’s lives and can be fatal. Attacks may be triggered by any number of things but treatment options are available. Two main forms of asthma exist.

It’s important to understand what people with these lung problems have to deal with. In order to get the oxygen our bodies need, people without breathing problems breathe air into their open, healthy lungs. The lungs process it and they exhale. With asthmatics, narrowing in the airways of the lungs makes it hard to breathe. This narrowing is caused because the lungs constrict and swell. When this happens, the person is having an asthma attack.

When people with allergies encounter something they are allergic to, their immune system reacts and can lead to symptoms. For some people, another cause of an attack is exercise. Also, with occupational problems, workers are exposed to substances that lead to lung symptoms. The other form is known as cough variant asthma. In this condition, people cough and cough but it isn’t productive. In this form, coughing is the only symptom.

The cough variant of the condition can be more difficult to diagnose. This is because lung function can be normal. With this type, symptoms are often treated with similar medications as the more common constriction type.

As with any medical condition, patients need to consult with their physician for diagnosis and treatment. This is important whether the patient has the more common form or the cough variant.

Treatments vary based on severity of symptoms and underlying causes. For allergic or occupational triggers, avoiding the things that cause the problem can help prevent it. Allergy testing can be used to determine what the person is allergic to. Also, treating the allergies themselves can result in improvement for the patient.

A number of medications are available that doctors can use when treating symptoms. Some medications help prevent the occurrence of flare-ups. This kind of medicine needs to be taken each day. When someone experiences breathing difficulties, they can use a rescue inhaler to immediately clear up the attack. Sometimes doctors decide that the best course of treatment is to use both kinds of medication. This provides the best overall results for patients.

Asthma has serious consequences for the people living with it. It’s a medical condition that requires a doctor’s care. Physicians find the treatments that work best for each patient. This means that patients can manage their symptoms and live their lives to the fullest, even with asthma.