Health

Asthma – All You Need To Know About

‘Breathe In, Breathe Out’. This is a common tip we offer to one another every now and then, to cope up with our stressful lives. However, did you ever wonder that how much our lungs are working 24/7 to keep providing this air supply? Lungs have alveoli, which are expanding and contracting to facilitate the exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen. However, many a time, due to some malfunctions, the lungs cannot perform well and as a result several respiratory conditions onset.

What Is Asthma?

Asthma is one very common inflammatory type respiratory illness that is caused by the obstruction of the airway, which eventually leads to mild to severe breathing difficulties. Let’s understand all about asthma in details.

How Lungs Work?

Lungs are a set of organs that facilitate the exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen for the body. The windpipe progressively branches into smaller tubes and buds throughout the lungs, like a channel. As we breathe in, we inhale air through the nose and it travels all the way into the lungs, where it diffuses into the bloodstream. Simultaneously, it absorbs carbon dioxide and expels it from the body through the same passage.

How Asthma Occurs?

Asthma onsets when this passage gets blocked and it reduces the amount of air passing through the windpipe. It happens due to the swelling of the lungs mucus lining, which in turn, results in tightening of the muscles around it. Its degree of severity varies from people to people. For some people, it is managed effectively with minor medication, while for others, it poses severe threats in the form of asthma attacks. Moreover, the repetitive occurrence of the same causes a nuisance by interfering daily-life activities.

What Are The Symptoms Of Asthma?

Asthma can often be characterized by chest congestion, chest pain, breathlessness, whistling or wheezing while breathing, trouble sleeping due to the high severity of the other symptoms. Often the symptoms heighten up even more with cold and flu. For some patients, the symptoms trigger with a certain condition like exercise or exposure to a certain type of chemicals or so.

Treatment Of Asthma

Most asthma cases can be effectively managed with timely, medical measures. Often it requires either or both, rescue inhalers (to treat symptoms) and prevent inhalers (to prevent the symptoms). In severe cases of asthma attacks, using asthma shots might be inevitable as well.

Read more – Early symptoms of Lung Cancer

ILS Hospitals offer quality treatment for asthma along with the best care for a wide range of other respiratory and chest conditions.

Health

A Brief Introduction to Asthma

Asthma is an illness that results due to the blockage of the airways of the lungs. The severity of the Asthma ranges from mild to severe. A mild episode of asthma can be treated with an asthma pump and over the counter medicine, whereas a major one needs more professional help. It is important to threat and keep a tab on every respiratory illness, particularly Asthma. As we are observing this World Asthma Day on 1st May 2018, we present a brief overview of symptoms of asthma and how it is diagnosed and treated.

The exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide to the lungs happens through the bronchial tubes, the passage to the lungs. Having asthma leads to inflammation of the bronchial tubes to the lungs. The swollen bronchial tubes and muscle make it difficult to facilitate smooth effortless air passage in and out of the lungs.

Possible asthma can be diagnosed by looking for the symptoms of the same. The exact symptoms may vary from person to person, but the most common are as follows-

  1. Chronic coughing or wheezing
  2. Chest pain and tenderness
  3. Shortness of breath
  4. Difficulty sleeping, particularly at night
  5. Whistling sound while breathing out
  6. Fatigue upon exercise

Many of these may arise even without asthma, but seeking the opinion of a doctor is always advisable. It is particularly recommended if the symptom gets prominent right after exercise, crying, laughing, exposure to allergies and during the night. Remember the severity of asthma increases upon the time span of the same, particularly untreated time period.

The diagnosis of asthma includes factors like family history, personal history, at its basics. Then it advances to certain diagnostic tests. These include Spirometry, which estimates the capacity and fictions of the lungs. Several other tests record the effects of particular allergens and stimulants.

On this World Asthma Day, we spread awareness regarding its crucial aspects to every people out there. Asthma cannot be cured permanently once infected. However, it can be managed effectively through medication, and healthy lifestyle. The chances of managing it effectively enhances significantly if the patients seek the diagnosis and treatment at its earliest. Timely measures ensure fewer, less severe attacks in future. Needless to say, the vice versa leads to the exact opposite scenario and can even cause permanent damage to the respiratory system.